Ozgur Batuman

• Plant Pathologist
• Professor (Associate) at University of Florida

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) causes severe but sporadic losses in processing tomato production in California. The virus is transmitted by thrips, with the predominant vector species being the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis. Over the last five years a concerted research and outreach effort to develop and implement an integrate...

Processing tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are an important industry in the Dominican Republic. In November 2012, symptoms typical of tospovirus infection (bronzing, chlorosis, and necrosis of leaves) appeared in numerous processing tomato fields in the North (>50% incidence in some fields) and a few fields in the South (<1% incidence). Plants in a...

Processing tomatoes are affected by numerous plant diseases, many of which can cause substantial economic losses. Because processing tomatoes are produced worldwide and in a wide diversity of environments, the diseases and their relative importance vary from region to region. Human activity has played a key role in the emergence of these diseases,...

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), is an invasive citrus pest that vectors the phloem-dwelling bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), which is a putative causal agent of citrus greening disease known as Huanglongbing (HLB). In Florida, the D. citri–CLas pathosystem complex is at present consider...

Diaphorina citri transmits Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) between citrus plants which causes the expression of huanglongbing disease in citrus. D. citri flavi-like virus (DcFLV) co-occurs intracellularly with CLas in D. citri populations in the field. However, the impact(s) of DcFLV presence on the insect vector and its interaction with t...

We present the complete sequence of the genomic RNA of an isolate of squash vein yellowing virus ( Ipomovirus cucurbitavenaflavi ) from California (SqVYV-CA) and show it is a recombinant virus with a highly divergent 5′ UTR and proximal P1a gene. The evolution of SqVYV-CA involved an intrageneric event between unknown potyviruses, related to isolat...

The widespread devastation from Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening, and several damaging insect pests continue to hamper Florida citrus growers, and environmentally harmful insecticides require adequate control. Repeated applications of these insecticides for sufficient control spurred research interest in insect-specific viruses (I...

The use of individual protective covers (IPCs) to protect newly planted citrus trees from Huanglongbing (HLB) infection is being widely adopted in Florida, an HLB-endemic citrus-producing area. It is known that IPCs positively influence most horticultural traits, increasing tree growth, flush expansion, and leaf size, enabling trees to sustain bala...

The use of individual protective covers (IPCs) to protect newly planted citrus trees from HLB infection is being widely adopted in Florida, an HLB endemic citrus producing area. It is known that IPCs positively influence most horticultural traits, increasing tree growth, flush expansion, and leaf size enabling trees to sustain a balanced carbohydra...

Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) causes substantial economic loss to tomato production, and the Sw-5b resistance gene is widely deployed for management. Here, we show (i) the emergence of resistance-breaking (RB) TSWV strains in processing and fresh market tomato production in California over the past ten years, and (ii) evolutionary rela...

Growers have depended on the specificity and efficacy of streptomycin and oxytetracycline as a part of their plant disease arsenal since the middle of the 20th century. With climate change intensifying plant bacterial epidemics, the established success of these antibiotics remains threatened. Our strong reliance on certain antibiotics for devastati...

Highlights An equation was developed for estimating the needle penetration force required for trunk injection. A method to determine the required pump pressure for citrus tree trunk injection was developed. This information can be used for the development of a drill-free, pressurized, automated trunk injection system. Abstract. Targeted precise ma...

The biggest threat to the $9 billion citrus industry in Florida is the bacterial disease known as Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening. The most common methods for applying liquid agrochemicals to manage HLB in agricultural fields are foliar sprays and soil drenches. These techniques are often accompanied by off-target losses and have not proven...

For over two decades, Florida citrus growers have been heavily using copper sprays to combat citrus canker ( Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri ; Xcc ), but it raises the risk of developing resistant bacterial strains and excessive accumulation in the soil. Alternative methods are needed to reduce copper dependency and better manage Xcc . Therefore, we...

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is an economically important seed and mechanically transmitted pathogen of significant importance to tomato production around the globe. Synergistic interaction with pepino mosaic virus (PepMV), another seed and mechanically transmitted virus, and long-distance dissemination of these two viruses via contamin...

The prevalence of Huanglongbing (HLB) disease, also known as citrus greening, has compelled the citrus industry to change management practices to increase production. However, these changes, such as enhanced nutrition and irrigation programs, have caused weed proliferation, subsequently leading to increased use of herbicides. Thus, our study evalua...

Citrus greening disease or huanglonbing (HLB) has devastated citrus crops globally in recent years. The causal bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, presents a sampling issue for qPCR diagnostics and results in a high false negative rate. In this work, we compared six metabolomics assays to identify HLB-infected citrus trees from extracted...

Background Tomato chlorotic spot virus (TCSV) is an economically important, thrips-transmitted, emerging member of the Orthotospovirus genus that causes significant yield loss mainly in tomatoes, but also in other vegetable and ornamental crops. Disease management of this pathogen is often challenging due to the limited availability of natural host...

Virome analysis via high-throughput sequencing (HTS) allows rapid and massive virus identification and diagnoses, expanding our focus from individual samples to the ecological distribution of viruses in agroecological landscapes. Decreases in sequencing costs combined with technological advances, such as automation and robotics, allow for efficient...

Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri) transmits the bacterial pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the putative causative agent of citrus Huanglongbing disease (HLB). Insect-specific viruses can act against insects as their natural enemies, and recently, several D. citri-associated viruses were discovered. The insect gut plays an im...

This chapter introduces several feature extraction techniques (FETs) and machine learning algorithms (MLA) that are useful for pattern recognition in hyperspectral data analysis (HDA). This chapter provides a handbook of the most popular FETs that have proven successful. Machine learning algorithms (MLA) for use with HDA are becoming prevalent in p...

The citrus industry of Florida faces insurmountable challenges against the destructive diseases citrus tristeza and Huanglongbing (HLB, or citrus greening). Though the tristeza causal agent, citrus tristeza virus (CTV), has been in Florida decades longer than HLB, growers have concentrated most of their efforts on combating the more detrimental HLB...

Huanglongbing (HLB) is a devastating bacterial disease associated with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. The location of the pathogen within the vasculature of the tree has left growers with limited options for the effective management of the disease. Trunk injection is a crop protection technique that applies therapeutics directly into the xylem...

This new two-page handout provides a brief summary of citrus leprosis symptoms. Written by Amit Levy, Ozgur Batuman, Megan M. Dewdney, and Jamie D. Burrow and published by the UF/IFAS Plant Pathology Department.

Tomato chlorotic spot virus (TCSV) is a highly destructive, thrips-transmitted, emerging orthotospovirus in various vegetable and ornamental crops. It is important to reduce the risk of spreading this virus by limiting the movement of infected plant materials to other geographic areas by utilizing point-of-care diagnostics. Current diagnostic assay...

The use of glyphosate as a post-emergent weed management tool is crucial in Florida citrus production. However, extensive and nonjudicious application of glyphosate has drawn increasing concerns about its inadvertent effects on citrus, mainly linked to its possible impacts on preharvest fruit drop. Our study investigated the effect of applying glyp...

The destructive citrus disease, Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening, continues to devastate Florida’s citrus industry. A hemipteran insect, the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), disperses Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, one of the putative bacterial pathogens of HLB. This study builds upon ongoing research utilizing high-throughput sequencing to an...

This document is one in a series designed to provide important information on the causal agent, symptoms, and transmission of exotic citrus diseases. This information can be used as an educational tool to raise awareness about these diseases and for scouting and identification efforts. Disseminating information about the diseases to the citrus indu...

Huanglongbing is caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) and transmitted by Diaphorina citri. D. citri harbors various insect-specific viruses, including the Diaphorina citri flavi-like virus (DcFLV). The distribution and biological role of DcFLV in its host and the relationship with CLas are unknown. DcFLV was found in various organs of...

Following the discovery of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) in 1998 and Huanglongbing (HLB) in 2005, this destructive disease associated with the phloem-limited bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) now affects most mature citrus trees in Florida. Despite the endemic presence of ACP and HLB, Florida citrus growers continue to plant new trees...

Psyllid exclusion is the most effective strategy to keep citrus trees free from HLB. Individual protective covers (IPCs) are a novel strategy based on psyllid exclusion of individual trees using a protective mesh bag. This new 3-page publication summarizes the knowledge we have accrued from our 3-year-long field studies using the IPC system and pro...

Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las) is the prominent species of Liberibacter associated with huanglongbing, a devastating disease of citrus worldwide. In this study, we report the identification of a ~8.3 kb DNA region of the Las genome containing eight putative open reading frames (ORFs) flanked by two inverted repeats, which was not present i...

Chemical weed control using herbicide glyphosate to manage emerged weeds is an important production practice in Florida citrus. Despite the extensive use of glyphosate in citrus orchards, very limited information is available on its environmental fate and behavior in Florida soils that are predominantly sandy in nature. Hence, the study’s objective...

This report describes the partial (nearly complete) genome sequence of a novel reo-like virus tentatively named Diaphorina citri Cimodo-like virus. This putative virus has 10 double-stranded RNA segments and was detected in Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri) populations collected from Florida commercial citrus groves.

Oxytetracycline (OTC) has been used for the control of several plant diseases and was recently approved for the control of Huanglongbing, the citrus greening disease. Huanglongbing is caused by the phloem limited ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’. Determination of OTC in the xylem and phloem of citrus plants is of great interest as they are the m...

Reviewed March 2021. There are no changes in recommendation from 2020.

Reviewed March 2021. There are no changes in recommendation from 2020.

Chemical weed control using herbicide glyphosate to manage emerged weeds is an important production practice in Florida citrus. Despite the extensive use of glyphosate in citrus orchards, very limited information is available on its environmental fate and behavior in Florida soils that are predominantly sandy in nature. Hence, the study's objective...

Oxytetracycline (OTC) and streptomycin have been used for the control of several plant diseases and were recently permitted for the control of citrus greening disease, Huanglongbing. Consequently, sensitive and reliable methods are highly needed for the detection of OTC in citrus tissues. Herein, we studied the replacement of cetyltrimethylammonium...

Tobamoviruses are mechanically transmitted plant viruses that cause severe economic damage to vegetable and ornamental crops in Florida and worldwide. While certain tomato cultivars have genetic resistance to the most common tobamoviruses, no commercial tomato cultivars are resistant to tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), a recently described...

This article is one in a series designed to provide important information on the causal agent, symptoms, and transmission of exotic citrus diseases. Disseminating the information about the diseases to the citrus industry may prevent their introduction and spread in Florida. This 5-page document will focus on the exotic viral disease citrus leprosis...

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV; species Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus; genus Orthotospovirus; family Tospoviridae) is a thrips-transmitted virus that can cause substantial economic losses to many crops, including tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Since 2005, TSWV emerged as an economically important virus of processing tomatoes in the Central V...

Huanglongbing (HLB) is the most destructive disease to the citrus industry. In North America, HLB is caused by Can-didatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) and is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. Recent studies showed that antibiotics such as oxytetracycline and streptomycin were effective against the CLas pathogen in planta....

Huanglongbing (HLB) is the most destructive disease to the citrus industry. In North America, HLB is caused by Can-didatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) and is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. Recent studies showed that antibiotics such as oxytetracycline and streptomycin were effective against the CLas pathogen in planta....

The plant pathogenic bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the causal agent of the citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB), and its insect vector, the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP; Diaphorina citri), have been devastating the Florida citrus industry. To restore the competitive production presence of Florida in the worldwide citrus market, eff...

Huánglóngbìng (HLB), citrus greening, is one of the most destructive diseases of citrus plants worldwide. In North America, HLB is caused by the phloem-limited bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus and is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. No cure exists at present, and the use of antibiotics for the control of HLB has...

Glyphosate-based herbicide products are the most widely used broad-spectrum herbicides in the world for postemergent weed control. There are ever-increasing concerns that glyphosate, if not used judiciously, may cause adverse nontarget impacts in agroecosystems. The purpose of this brief review is to present and discuss the state of knowledge with...

Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, is the most destructive disease to the citrus industry. In Florida, it is caused by the bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) and is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. Recent studies suggested that antibiotics could inhibit the growth of the CLas pathogen in planta. In t...

Glyphosate-based herbicide products are the most widely used broad-spectrum herbicides in the world for post-emergent weed control. There are ever-increasing concerns that glyphosate, if not used judiciously, may cause adverse non-target impacts in agroecosystems. The purpose of this brief review is to present and discuss the state of knowledge wit...

The complete sequence of the medium (M) and small (S) RNA genome segments were determined for twelve isolates of impatiens necrotic spot virus from eight plant species. The M- and S-RNAs of these isolates shared 97–99% and 93–98% nucleotide sequence identity, respectively, with the corresponding full-length sequences available in public databases....

Exocortis and cachexia are diseases caused by viroids, which can lead to stunted growth and reduced yields in affected plants. Viroids are small, infectious circular-RNA molecules. Exocortis causes dwarfing and bark scaling on rootstocks such as trifoliate orange and many of its hybrids such as Carrizo citrange, Rangpur lime, and others. This 2-pag...

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is a major cause of the decline and eventual death of trees on sour orange rootstocks. This 2-page fact sheet is part of the 2019–2020 Florida Citrus Production Guide. Written by O. Batuman, A. Levy, M. E. Hilf, P. J. Sieburth, W. O. Dawson, and R. H. Brlansky, and published by the Plant Pathology Department, March 2019....

Citrus blight is a wilt and decline disease of citrus whose cause has not been determined. This 2-page document is part of the 2019–2020 Florida Citrus Production Guide. Written by Ozgur Batuman, Pamela D. Roberts, and Ronald H. Brlansky, and published Plant Pathology Department, March 2019. PP-180/CG038: 2022–2023 Florida Citrus Production Guide:...

This illustrated trifold brochure provides key information about Pseudocercospora fruit and leaf spot, sweet orange scab, citrus leprosis virus, citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC), and citrus tristeza virus (CTV) stem pitting. Includes contact information for UF/IFAS Extension citrus experts.

A remote sensing technique was developed to detect citrus canker in laboratory conditions and was verified in the grove by utilizing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In the laboratory, a hyperspectral (400-1000 nm) imaging system was utilized for the detection of citrus canker in several disease development stages (i.e., asymptomatic, early, and l...

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is a major cause of the decline and eventual death of trees on sour orange rootstocks. This 2-page fact sheet is part of the 2018–2019 Florida Citrus Production Guide. Written by O. Batuman, A. Levy, M. E. Hilf, P. J. Sieburth, W. O. Dawson, and R. H. Brlansky, and published by the Plant Pathology Department, January 201...

Rasta is a virus-like disease of unknown etiology affecting tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) plants in Ghana. Symptoms include stunting; epinasty, crumpling and chlorosis of leaves; and necrosis of leaf veins, petioles and stems. Leaf samples with rasta symptoms were collected from commercial tomato fields in Ghana in October 2012, applied to FTA ca...

Exocortis and cachexia are diseases caused by viroids, which can lead to stunted growth and reduced yields in affected plants. Viroids are small, low-molecular-weight, infectious RNA molecules. This 1-page fact sheet is part of the 2018–2019 Florida Citrus Production Guide. Written by Ozgur Batuman, Amit Levy, and Ronald H. Brlansky, and published...

Citrus blight is a wilt and decline disease of citrus whose cause has not been determined. The first symptoms are usually a mild wilt and grayish cast to the foliage often accompanied by zinc deficiency symptoms on trees. Trees rapidly decline with extensive twig dieback, off-season flowering, and small fruit. Blight trees reach a stage of chronic...

This guide provides descriptions and photographs of the more common tomato diseases and disorders worldwide. For each disease and disorder the reader will find the common name, causal agent, distribution, symptoms, conditions for disease development and control measures. We have also included a section on common vectors of tomato viruses. New to th...

This guide provides descriptions and photographs of the more common tomato diseases and disorders worldwide. For each disease and disorder the reader will find the common name, causal agent, distribution, symptoms, conditions for disease development and control measures. We have also included a section on common vectors of tomato viruses. New to th...

This guide provides descriptions and photographs of the more common tomato diseases and disorders worldwide. For each disease and disorder the reader will find the common name, causal agent, distribution, symptoms, conditions for disease development and control measures. We have also included a section on common vectors of tomato viruses. New to th...

This guide provides descriptions and photographs of the more common tomato diseases and disorders worldwide. For each disease and disorder the reader will find the common name, causal agent, distribution, symptoms, conditions for disease development and control measures. We have also included a section on common vectors of tomato viruses. New to th...

This guide provides descriptions and photographs of the more common tomato diseases and disorders worldwide. For each disease and disorder the reader will find the common name, causal agent, distribution, symptoms, conditions for disease development and control measures. We have also included a section on common vectors of tomato viruses. New to th...

In 2013, an outbreak of curly top disease caused by the beet leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus)-transmitted Beet curly top virus (BCTV, genus Curtovirus, family Geminiviridae) led to ∼$100 million in losses to the processing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) industry in California (†). Surveys of BCTV strains infecting crops and weeds in the Central Vall...

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is a highly destructive pathogen of fresh market and processing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) in the Central Valley of California, U.S.A. In April 2016, severe tospovirus-like disease symptoms (i.e., stunting; leaf, stem, and petiole necrosis; and concentric rings on fruits) occurred in fields of fresh market tomato...

The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of various insecticides, insecticide rotations, types of application (soil injections or foliar sprays) and timing of applications for insect control and for suppression of watermelon vine decline (WVD) disease fruit symptoms caused by the SPW-transmitted Squash vein yellowing virus (SVYV) on...

Emergence of insect-transmitted plant viruses over the past 10-20 years has been disproportionately driven by two so-called supervectors: the white-fly, Bemisia tabaci, and the Western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis. High rates of reproduction and dispersal, extreme polyphagy, and development of insecticide resistance, together with huma...

Processing tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are an important industry in the Dominican Republic (DO). In November 2012 symptoms typical of tospovirus infection (bronzing, chlorosis and necrosis of leaves) appeared in numerous processing tomato fields in the North (>50% incidence in some fields) and a few fields in the South (<1% incidence). Plants i...

During surveys of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fields in Niono, Mali, conducted in March 2011, unusual disease symptoms, including stunted growth, epinasty, and chlorosis of leaves and necrosis of leaf veins and stems were observed in multiple fields. The incidence of these symptoms was low (~1 to 5%), but they were distinct from those associated...

Processing tomatoes are affected by numerous plant diseases, many of which can cause substantial economic losses. Because processing tomatoes are produced worldwide and in a wide diversity of environments, the diseases and their relative importance vary from region to region. Human activity has played a key role in the emergence of these diseases,...