科学美国人60秒:防治柑橘木虱虫害新方法-托福听力下载

　　科学美国人60秒中文翻译：

　　Ten years ago, a bacterial disease began to eat away at the Florida citrus crop. 10年前一场细菌虫害开始席卷佛罗里达州的柑橘作物。

　　It's called huanglongbing, or citrus greening, and it causes misshapen, bitter green fruits and, eventually, dead trees. 这种细菌名为黄龙病或柑橘绿化症，可使得果实发育畸形、口味苦涩，最终造成树木死亡。

　　Since 2005, the infection is estimated to have caused billions of dollars in damage. 自2005年起，这种虫害感染已造成数十亿美元的损失。

　　And the microbe did all that damage with the unwitting help of a tiny winged insect, the citrus psyllid, which spreads the bacterium as it feeds. 而细菌正是通过以柑橘为食一种小翅膀昆虫柑橘木虱的无意帮助对作物造成破坏。

　　But now researchers at the USDA and the University of Florida have come up with a pesticide-free way to battle the insect: 但现在美国农业部及佛罗里达大学的研究者们提出了一种不用杀虫剂就能抑制这种柑橘黄龙病传播媒介的方法：

　　by disrupting its ability to find a mate. 那就是破坏它寻找配偶的能力。

　　When male psyllids are looking for love, they beat their wings, sending vibrations along a tree's branches. 雄性柑橘木虱在寻找配偶时通常会拍打翅膀，沿着树枝发出振动。

　　Nearby females pick up that signal and send back one of their own, which tells males to come hither. 附近的雌性在接收到信号后，就会发出自己通知雄性配偶过来的信号。

　　The researchers eavesdropped on that duet with a microphone, rigged to an electronic microcontroller. 研究人员通过电子微控制器耳机了解到柑橘木虱情人间的这首二重奏。

　　And when the controller identified a male's call, it sent out a decoy female response—more quickly than real females could respond. 在识别雄性配偶的信号后控制器会发出比真正雌木虱反应速度要快的假信号。

　　That imposter's call actually lured males to the device, where instead of a mate they found flypaper. 这样的信号会将雄性木虱引诱到捕蝇纸处。

　　The researchers presented the results at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, in Jacksonville, Florida. 在佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔的美国声学学会上研究人员展示这项研究结果。

　　The technique isn't ready for the limelight just yet. 但这项技术仍未引起人们的热切关注。

　　For one, though the decoy call does fool the bugs, they're still adept at avoiding the flypaper. 其中一个原因在于虽然能够进行诱导，但雄性木虱仍能够躲避捕蝇纸。

　　But the researchers say this sort of "signal jamming" interference might be able to disrupt the insects' ability to find a mate, cutting overall numbers of the pest. 但研究人员表示这样的“信号干扰”可能会干扰其寻找配偶的能力，这样柑橘木虱的数量就会大大减少。

　　A similar technique has worked in vineyards-and if it works in orange groves, it could help citrus growers get out of this squeeze. 相应的一项技术已经在葡萄园取得成果，如果柑橘作物也适用的话，柑橘种植者们就会摆脱这种害虫的烦扰。

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