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"The plants are the most vulnerable during the pre-flowering, flowering, and early fruiting stages," said Andrea Luvisi, professor of phytopathology at the University of Salento in Puglia.

The study, published last week in the journal Phytopathology, found that spraying the drug oxytetracycline on trees had no detectable impact on the bacterial disease know as citrus greening that slowly kills orange and grapefruit trees.

Phytopathology, from Greek words which signify to treat of diseases of plants, comprises what is known of the symptoms, course, and causes of the diseases which threaten the lives of plants, or bring about injuries and abnormalities of structure.

Phytopathology, fī-tō-pā-thol′ō-ji, n. the science of the diseases of plants.—adj.

The findings were published in the journal Phytopathology.