Thursday, April 2nd 
4:10pm, 2045 Bainer Hall 

Topic: "An Engineering Approach for Detection and Controlling Citrus Greening Disease" 

Speaker: Reza Ehsani 
Associate Professor of Agricultural & Biological Engineering 
Citrus Research and Education Center 
University of Florida 

Summary: 

Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening, is a devastating vector-transmitted disease caused by the bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), and is spread by the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP; Diaphorina citri Kuwayama). Since 2005, Florida citrus production has been seriously affected by HLB. Today citrus production in Florida has dropped to half of what it was ten years ago mainly as the result of this disease. Dr. Ehsani and his group have been working on developing different engineering tools and techniques to address the urgent need of citrus growers in Florida to develop an effective method for detection and control of citrus greening. This presentation summarizes their work on development of different optical techniques for detecting HLB-infected trees in the grove as well as different ground- and aerial-based platforms such as UAS to carry those sensors. In addition to detection, there is a growing urgency to find a solution to treat HLB-infected citrus trees in Florida. Dr. Ehsani will talk about a heat treatment approach using supplemental heat for prolonging the productivity life of HLB-infected citrus trees. 

Short Bio: 

Dr. Ehsani is an associate professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Florida, Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC). He received his Ph.D. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from the University of California, Davis. He was a faculty member and precision agriculture specialist at the Ohio State University and worked on the application of precision agriculture for row-crops with the focus on auto steering before joining the University of Florida. His current areas of research include developing tools and techniques for precision horticulture management, applications of UAS for orchard management and precision horticulture, disease and stress detection sensors, and automation and machine enhancement for citrus mechanical harvesters. 

Coffee and cookies will be served.