A summary of the research programme for control of Diaprepes abbreviatus which is primarily responsible for citrus dieback disease. Studies include: population dynamics of the pest, presence of oophagi parasites of which 3 have been discovered in Guadeloupe (Tetrastichus sp. 1 and 2, and Ceratogramma) and one in Martinique (Tetrastichus sp. 3), nematode parasites and fungal parasites. Alternative rootstocks are being tested as well as the effects of soil physical conditions

Second to Black Sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis), Moko (Pseudomonas solanacearum race 2) is the most threatening disease to plantains and bananas. No resistance has been found on commercial varieties. It is present throughout Central America, as well as in Trinidad, Grenada, Brazil, Surinam, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and suspected in the Dominican Republic. Its detailed distribution in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru is described. Symptoms, pathogenesis and survival of race 2, which is pathogenic and divided into SFR, the major disease agent on bluggoe, and A and B are described. Disease control by elimination of diseased plants by glyphosate injections is detailed. Good control was achieved in 70 % of infected farms with a 90 day fallow after injection

Moko control in Grenada by eradication of affected and adjacent (buffer zone) mats is discussed. The major constraints to the programme are poor reporting of disease occurrence, inadequate size of buffer zone, need for frequent re-visits to affected farms, uncertainty over the recommended length of the fallow period, and inadequate supplies of Moko-free planting material

The strategy is preventative based on a climatic forecasting system which receives data from 14 agroclimatic stations, complemented by biological assessments. The method used is termed 'state of evolution', an expression of the speed of disease development which varies with inoculum potential and climatic conditions. Benzimidazole and sterol-inhibiting fungicides are applied in rotation

Pests of major economic significance, their distribution in the Commonwealth Caribbean, the damage they cause and practices for their control are tabulated. The types of pests discussed are defoliators and foliage sap feeders and those causing damage to fruit, fiddler beetles, fruit flies, scale insects, and fruit piercing moths. The potentially serious pests of quarantine significance are summarised with their worldwide distribution and host plants other than citrus. The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata and the aphid vector of Tristeza, Toxoptera citricidus are significant

A diseased mat eradication programme in which mats are injected with Round up, followed by cygon spray and the area sprayed with Gramoxone has been successful. 216,812 mats were destroyed between 1978 and July 1985. Findings of research funded by the EDF include early detection of infected mats by examination for corm discolouration, possibility of Ricinus comunis, begonia jumbie tomato (Solanum sp.) and Xanthosoma sp. as alternative hosts, a recommended fallow period between injection of mats and re-planting of 9-12 months, optimum weed killer and application rate (Round up at 20 mls 2 % soln) and a buffer zone of more than 8 in. in radius