Can Dogs Effectively Detect Citrus Pests & Diseases?

Gary Cooper Citrus, Florida, International

A well-known dog trainer in north central Florida is on the trail of research that could be very meaningful to citrus pest and disease detection efforts.  Pepe Peruyero, Founder and President of J&K Canine Academy with Brody, one of his bed bug sniffing associates “Pepe” Peruyero, is the founder and president of J & K Canine Academy and “Pepe Dogs” in High Springs, FL. He says with the right support and industry involvement, research could soon produce dogs capable of effective early detection of things like citrus canker, greening and psyllid pests, in both field and packing house situations. He adds that proper research and data collection early on can develop a proven method of training more dogs to the proper standard for the future. Some of his comments are in these reports, and be sure to see the feature article in the August issue of Citrus Industry Magazine.
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