Method of treating citrus plants to reduce bacterial infections

1. A method of reducing, in at least one citrus plant, the incidence of one or more insect-vectored bacterial infections that result in citrus greening, comprising applying to the at least one citrus plant having the one or more insect-vectored bacterial infections a treatment composition comprising an effective amount of aluminum tris(O-ethyl phosphonate).

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment composition further comprises one or more safeners and/or fungicides.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the one or more fungicides contains phosphorous acid and/or derivatives thereof.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment composition is applied in an amount of 5 lb/acre (2.27 kg/acre).

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment composition is applied one or more times to roots of plants during planting or transplanting, in-furrow and/or as a root dip.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment composition is applied one or more times to foliage, trunks and/or roots of plants during plant growth.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the treatment composition is applied to trunks.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the treatment composition is applied to the plants by spraying, painting, and/or chemigation.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment composition is initially applied one or more times to roots of plants during planting or transplanting in-furrow and/or as a root dip, and then subsequently applied one or more times to foliage, trunks and/or roots of plants during plant growth, wherein the treatment composition may be the same or different for each application.