Citrus Health Management Areas (CHMAs)
The Citrus Health Management Area (CHMA) Program was launched in 2010 as a coordinated, grower-led effort to manage the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), the insect responsible for spreading Huanglongbing (HLB, or citrus greening), across Florida’s citrus-growing regions. Recognized early on by the National Academy of Sciences as a critical component of HLB management, CHMAs were designed to promote area-wide control of ACP through collaboration among neighboring commercial citrus operations.
Each CHMA grouped together nearby groves and encouraged voluntary cooperation among growers to time pesticide applications and rotate insecticide modes of action in unison. Management plans were developed locally with input from growers to best fit the conditions of each region. At its peak, the program encompassed 55 CHMAs statewide, many of which initially achieved excellent psyllid suppression through coordinated efforts.
Despite early success, grower participation declined after 2017. Continued yield losses and widespread HLB infection led many producers to redirect their resources toward nutrient management and root health, rather than intensive ACP control. In addition, new agrochemical options shifted attention from vector management to mitigating the effects of the HLB bacteria itself.
A key component of the CHMA program was a robust ACP scouting system coordinated by USDA and FDACS. Approximately 6,000 commercial citrus blocks were tap-sampled every three weeks, and results were shared with growers via a publicly accessible “Block Specific Spreadsheet” on the CHMA website.
Although the CHMA program is no longer active, it remains an important example of large-scale, cooperative pest management in Florida agriculture. For more on the program’s evolution and lessons learned, please see the resources below.
Resources
Singerman, A., S.H. Lence, and P. Useche. 2017. Uncertainty Undermines Area-Wide Pest Management for Citrus Greening in Florida. Choices, Quarter 3. https://www.jstor.org/stable/90015003
Singerman, A., Lence, S.H., and P. Useche. 2017. Is Area-Wide Pest Management Useful? The Case of Citrus Greening. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 39(4): 609–634. https://doi.org/10.1093/aepp/ppx030