Evaluación de la estrategia de erradicación en la dispersión de Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, patógeno asociado con la enfermedad del HLB. Evaluation of the Eradication Strategy Regarding the Spread of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, the Pathogen Associated with HLB Disease
Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of eradicating HLB-symptomatic trees in reducing the spread of CLas. Materials and methods. The study was conducted from January to December 2019 in three phytosanitary epidemiological management areas (AMEFIs in Spanish) located in the municipalities of Güémez, Hidalgo, Llera de Canales, and Padilla, in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. In each AMEFI, a post-eradication sampling route was established around a tree confirmed to be symptomatic of CLas via q-PCR. Sampling sites were defined at distances of 6.7 km (S1), 13.4 km (S2), and 20.1 km (S3) from the eradicated tree, where leaf samples were randomly collected from asymptomatic trees to determine the presence or absence of CLas. The data were analyzed using chi-square tests to compare the frequency of positive and negative trees among AMEFIs and sampling sites. Results. The frequency of asymptomatic trees that were positive and negative for CLas differed significantly among the evaluated AMEFIs; at the site level, only AMEFI 3 showed significant differences. Conclusion. The eradication of trees with HLB symptoms was not sufficient to prevent the persistence of CLas, as asymptomatic infected trees were detected after the removal of symptomatic trees.