MANDADI INSPECTS A CITRUS tree with citrus greening disease. The tree drops them earlier than normal and eventually becomes weaker and more prone to damage by other diseases and environmental stresses, ultimately resulting in billions of dollars in agricultural losses each year. Photo courtesy of Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife
CROSS SECTION of an infected potato showing the dark stripes of zebra chip disease. Photo courtesy of Fekede Workneh, Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife)
MANDADI’S GLOVED hand holds a discolored, lopsided grapefruit. Citrus greening disease causes fruits to become smaller, irregularly shaped and bitter. Photo courtesy of Sam Craft/ Texas A&M AgriLife
PSYLLID INSECTS crawl on the leaves of an infected potato plant. Insects spread the bacteria responsible for zebra chip and for citrus greening, respectively. Photo courtesy of Fekede Workneh, Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife)
Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists have developed a new approach to countering citrus greening and potato zebra chip diseases, two economically devastating agricultural diseases in the U.S.Their method uses spinach antimicrobial peptides, known as defensins, which naturally defend plants against a broad range of pathogens.In a recent study published in the Plant Biotechnol...
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