HLB upregulation was observed for IRE1a , a gene closely involved in the UPR in plants. This gene expression change suggests that UPR may be activated in the infected fruit. Plants employ a network of intertwined mechanisms to counter infection by pathogens and parasites. One line of defense is based on dominant disease resistance genes encoding nucleotidebinding, leucine-rich repeat proteins that mediate resistance to pathogens possessing corresponding avirulence genes. Several leucine-rich repeat receptor kinases were up-regulated in symptomatic fruit, implying that they may be receptors triggering a futile defense response against CaLas. Innate immunity can be regulated by transcription factors. Several genes belonging to the WRKY family of transcription factors such as WRKY70, WRKY13, WRKY30, WRKY40, WRKY65, and WRKY31 were up-regulated at both asymptomatic and symptomatic stages of HLB. WRKY70 acts as a convergence point, determining the balance between SA- and JA-dependent defense pathways in addition to being required for R gene-mediated resistance. Its role in JA and SA signaling, however, has recently been questioned. Similarly,AtWRKY53 positively modulates SAR. Members of the WRKY family were implicated in regulating the transcriptional reprogramming associated with plant immune responses and they may act as positive and negative regulators of disease resistance. Other genes encoding bZIP and C2H2 zinc finger transcription factors were up-regulated in CaLas-infected fruits.

The regulation of bZIPs in HLB-affected citrus may be associated with reported modifications observed in energy metabolism. In the cytosol, flower bucket up-regulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl CoA reductase , 12-oxophytodienoate reductase 2, and allene oxide synthase may induce an increase in jasmonate-derived volatiles. Several genes involved in terpenoid metabolism, such as terpene synthase 3 and terpene synthase cyclase, were downregulated in symptomatic fruits. These enzymes are involved in the synthesis and transport of a variety of terpenes, gibberellins, brassinosteroids, alkaloids, and plant volatiles that play diverse roles in plant development and defense. The regulation of genes involved in these pathways has important implications for volatile emissions and is associated with a variety of responses. Further studies on the volatile emission profiles of CaLas-infected fruits will clarify the role of these enzymes. Next generation sequencing enabled us to identify genes differentially expressed in citrus fruit peel in response to CaLas infection, leading to a better understanding of the processes involved in HLB disease development. This study identified several genes that were differentially expressed at the asymptomatic stage that may aid disease detection at primary stages of infection, before the pathogen can be detected by PCR. However, their usefulness as HLB-specific induced genes cannot be determined until a similar expression analysis is conducted on the same tissues infected by other citrus pathogens such as Citrus tristeza virus, Xylella fastidiosa, and Xanthomonas axonopodis. In the fruit peel, HLB induced transcriptional changes in important pathways such as sucrose and starch metabolism, hormone signaling, and isoprenoid synthesis. WRKY transcription factors appear to help regulate defense responses to CaLas in the fruit.

The induction of genes involved in the light reactions of photosynthesis might increase the occurrence of reactive oxygen species, leading to protein degradation and misfolding. The application of small-molecule hormones is another promising short-term strategy to mitigate the devastating negative physiological effects of HLB.Economists have looked with interest at the growth of female employment in nontraditional agricultural activities in developing countries, particularly in the export sector. Why are women entering this labor force when traditionally most women were not formally employed in agriculture work? Who is hired, for what tasks, and for what periods of time? What do they earn and how does their employment affect their family’s welfare, directly and indirectly? Few detailed studies have been carried out and relatively little empirical evidence is available. This paper analyzes the impact of Chilean fruit sector development on female employment. Modern fruit sector development in Chile began in the mid-1960s and accelerated in the mid-1970s in response to government land and economic reforms, rising international demand, and the transfer and adaptation of fruit technologies that greatly increased the profitability of fruit production . Given its Southern Hemisphere location, Chile found ready markets in developed countries of the Northern Hemisphere. Labor was cheap relative to that of its main competitors and Chile developed a system that utilized substantial labor in the orchard and in post-harvest to improve fruit quality and prepare it for relatively lengthy transit to Northern Hemisphere markets. While demand for labor rose along with fruit output and although labor was inexpensive, Chilean fruit producers often had difficulty obtaining sufficient workers, particularly for the packing plants during the harvest season. As a result, women, who traditionally had not worked in agriculture on a salaried basis, found new employment opportunities as temporary laborers in the fruit sector. A substantial number of women began working in table grape packing plants in the late 1960s. However, the real growth in the number of female workers occurred during the late 1970s and the 1980s. Throughout the decade that followed the military coup in 1973, policy reforms resulted in significant disruption within the agricultural sector, temporarily reducing agricultural labor demand and agricultural wages . Two severe recessions, in 1975-76 and 1982-83, caused high levels of aggregate unemployment that only gradually declined. Moreover, about 50,000 male workers who had been employed in the reform sector were abruptly dismissed without land or employment in the late 1970s, when the reform sector land was redistributed to others. As men lost work and suffered reduced incomes, many women sought employment. Most early social science commentary regarding fruit sector female employment was negative . Several scholars hypothesized that women had been forced to take unattractive employment. Some argued that female workers were exploited by being offered only seasonal employment, at low wages or, frequently, on a piece rate basis that encouraged women to work lengthy hours at a rapid pace, competing with each other for a fixed amount of raw material. However, by the late 1980s and early 1990s, evidence from sociological studies began to emerge showing that the fruit sector offered women opportunities for employment, income and personal fulfillment that were previously lacking . Work allowed women to achieve greater independence and voice within their households and to significantly improve their household’s standard of living. Several subsequent sociological/historical studies, e.g., Barrientos, et al., Bee, Bee and Vogel, and Matear, have provided additional evidence supporting the view that fruit sector development has affected positively affected women and their households in rural Chile. This paper adds to the existing literature using results from a uniquely detailed Chilean data set collected in 1992.

These data provide substantial new information about female agricultural work, both in their principal jobs in fruit packing plants during the summer and also in other work throughout the year. The data allow the use of formal statistical approaches to quantitatively analyze many economic issues not previously investigated. Analysis data regarding detailed worker and firm characteristics, including worker productivity and piece rates paid by different table grape packing firms, plastic flower bucket provides new insights into how sophisticated and knowledgeable female workers are about the value of their labor skills, the opportunities facing them, and their ability to negotiate employment terms . Similarly, the availability of detailed day-by day information, collected for one full year regarding labor force participation, employment and earnings, allows analysis of how female workers adjust to seasonal shifts in labor demand . We combine results from these studies and with those from additional analysis to provide a broad view of female agricultural workers labor market decisions, women’s attitudes towards fruit sector employment, use of earned income and contribution of their income to household welfare.The Chilean fruit sector grew dramatically after 1973. The total area planted increased from around 66.000 ha in 1974 to 178.000 ha in 1992, and fresh fruit exports increased about 20 percent annually during this period . By the early 1990s, table grape production accounted for roughly half of all fresh fruit exports and was the most labor intensive of the major fruit crops. In terms of employment, the agricultural sector accounted for about 17 percent of the national labor force, while fruit production, perse, absorbed around 25 percent of the labor employed in agriculture. The demand for fruit sector labor was highly seasonal . Chilean fruit farms employed a small number of relatively skilled workers on a permanent basis and hired a larger number of less skilled workers on a temporary basis to undertake specific tasks when needed. Temporary workers were usually paid on a piece rate or contract basis in order to provide better incentives, lessen supervision costs and incorporate a heterogeneous labor force. Temporary work has been increasing relative to permanent employment in agriculture and especially fruit production. For example, Gómez, S. and J. Echeñique estimated that the total permanent agricultural labor force fell from 208.000 to 120.000 between 1964 and 1987, while the total temporary agricultural labor force increased from 147.000 to 300.000 in the same period.3 Fruit production was concentrated in specific geographical areas. Workers were generally unwilling and unable to migrate from one area to another for short periods. Accordingly, in many areas the fruit sector demanded more labor than the traditional labor force was able to supply during the summer months.4 The shortage of labor during the peak season encouraged employers within the fruit sector to develop mechanisms to attract, motivate and compensate workers for seasonal work. Piece rate pay emerged to facilitate the incorporation of heterogeneous workers, particularly women, into the labor force, while also providing direct motivation to increase effort over a longer workday. By the early 1990s, we estimate that female employment in the fruit sector amounted to roughly 30% of total fruit sector employment.Notwithstanding, women worked almost exclusively as temporary laborers, usually in tasks paid at a piece rate in the summer, but often at a time rate in the slack season. The data utilized in this study were collected from a random sample of 690 workers taken from 56 table grape packing sheds during the harvest season of 1992. Data was collected regarding worker productivity and pay in the task the worker was performing at the time interviewed, as well as other information regarding work age, education, job experience, household demographics, and household income, plus worker opinions and preferences regarding many aspects of their current job. Data were also collected regarding each worker’s labor force participation, employment, and earnings, daily, throughout 1991. Table 1, taken from Jarvis and Vera Toscano, reports general characteristics of the workers surveyed in January-March 1992. The labor force was relatively young, with most between 15–34 years old. Males tended to be slightly younger than females. As all women in the sample were engaged in piece rate work in 1992, the data suggest that most piece rate workers sought wage work or dropped out of the labor force as they aged.7 The labor force was also relatively well educated; 66% of women and 85% percent of men had completed secondary school. Table 2 shows that the average level of education declined as age rose. This changing educational profile probably reflected the steady improvement over time in rural educational opportunities during the last 35 years. That women with secondary accepted these temporary, manual jobs suggests that employment opportunities were limited for many rural females even after they acquired considerable schooling.Female workers had a significantly higher number of children, on average, than their male counterparts and about half of female workers and about a third of male workers were married. A small proportion of workers were students, 12% of women and 15% of men, who generally worked only during the summer. Each worker surveyed was asked to sequentially list all periods of employment during 1991 , the task performed, the location and economic sector of the job, whether they were paid a wage or piece rate, the daily wage and/or the total amount earned, and when they had been in the labor force. This information yielded labor force participation, employment, and the wage or average piece rate earnings when employed. Table 3, also from Jarvis and Vera Toscano, presents additional labor related information. Both men and women averaged about 5 separate jobs per year, with the number slightly higher for men. Men worked more days during the year , mainly because men worked steadily throughout the year while women averaged sharply fewer days per month during the slack season .