while the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions , certain embodiments thereof have been presented in the description and will be described below in detail . it should be understood , however , that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed , but , on the contrary , the invention is to cover all modifications , alternative constructions , and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims . an embodiment of the invention is directed toward using copper phosphite to improve plant health that is impacted by plant pathogenic bacteria and endophytic microorganisms on or within plant tissues and vascular systems . a further embodiment of the invention incorporates a halide , including , but not limited to iodine as an - iodo - component , as a beneficial component and uses the phosphite moiety as a ‘ carrier ’ to enhance absorption and systemic movement within a plant . the described embodiments of the invention efficiently provide systemic mobility of the copper phosphite and / or nutrient - halo - phosphite to suppress bacterial activity and provide plant nutrient sufficiency , with the - halo - component , such as - iodo -, as a beneficial nutrient under severe disease situations such as encountered with copper - tolerant strains of bacterial pathogens . plant pathogenic microorganisms are difficult to control or not controllable with the current art . the current invention provides a systemic treatment for plant pathogenic microorganisms by providing a bactericidal effect while promoting plant health . the described embodiments of the invention will work most effectively and are best suited for use in a well - managed crop production system recognizing the importance of plant health and nutritional sufficiency . the elimination of glypho sate herbicide applications can also greatly improve plant health and reduce nutrient stress and disease severity so that the invention is more effective in established disease situations . as with most plant nutrients , formulation with surfactant or adjuvant can improve ease of handling and compatibility for ‘ tank - mixing ’ with other agricultural products or chemicals . the invention can be used to efficiently provide copper or other nutrient sufficiency to plants under copper - limiting or nutrient - limiting environmental or soil situations . the invention will be less effective in improving plant health when the over - all crop production system is poorly managed . while the concentrations of copper phosphite and / or nutrient - halo - phosphite can be formulated to vary depending on a wide variety of environmental conditions , the current rate used in brazil is approximately 0 . 5 % while the rates that are used in florida are approximately a 0 . 25 , 2 . 5 and 4 % formulation of copper phosphite . the 0 . 25 formulation is an aqueous copper phosphite at ph of approximately 1 . 5 ; the 2 . 5 % formulation is approximately 2 . 5 % cu + 1 . 0 % iodide ( approximately ), and the 4 % formulation is approximately 4 % copper phosphite formulated with nitrogen for stability at the higher concentrations and higher ph ( common approaches for those with knowledge of the art ). while nitrogen is used in various embodiments to increase stability and / or ph at higher concentrations of copper phosphite , for example in an embodiment having a 2 . 5 % concentration of copper phosphite to increase the ph to around 5 . 5 , a wide variety of stabilizers and / or components to increase ph known to those having ordinary skill in the art can be used . it is thought that using these formulations along with a regular commercial fertility program to insure nutrient sufficiency , and thus avoid deficiency , to the plants or trees , will constitute the best method of using the invention . further , while the invention of the present application was developed with citrus plants in mind , the described embodiments of the invention are applicable to a wide variety of trees or plants and there is no intent to limit the present application to citrus trees . the exact compositions incorporating the active ingredients of the invention can vary widely but are generally known to one having ordinary skill in the art . the mixtures can further incorporate a wide variety of plant nutrients , fertilizers , and filler components . alternatively , varying compounds such as a nutrient - chloro - phosphite or nutrient - bromo - phosphite can be used potentially independently or in combination with manganese , zinc , potassium or similar micronutrient for bactericidal aspects as well as for increasing plant health . additionally , the described embodiments of the invention can be practiced by adding a variety of embodiments of the invention to infected plants or to prevent infection in plants . for example , the invention can be in the form of an aqueous foliar spray , dry powder or soil treatment . in sum , the described embodiments of the invention are intended to be applied effectively to plant foliage or for root absorption and can likely be applied via injection into the plant system . the exemplary embodiments described above illustrate but do not limit the invention . it should be understood that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed ; rather , the invention is to cover all modifications , alternative constructions , and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims . for example , while the exemplary embodiments illustrate using either copper phosphite or a nutrient - halo - phosphite , the invention is not limited to use with a composition having only one of the active ingredients . instead , a wide variety of combinations of active ingredients can be used as well as with other active ingredients . while the invention is not limited to use with citrus plants , it is expected that various embodiments of the invention will be useful with a wide variety of plant species . hence , the foregoing description should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention , which is defined in the following claims . while there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment of the invention , it is to be distinctly understood that this invention is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims . from the foregoing description , it will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims . bove , j . m . 2006 . huanglongbing : a destructive , newly - emerging , century - old disease of citrus . journal of plant pathology 88 : 7 - 37 . datnoff , l . e ., w . h . elmer , and d . m . huber . 2009 . mineral nutrition and plant disease . aps press , st . paul , minn . evans , i ., e . solberg , and d . m . huber . 2007 . copper and plant disease . chapter 12 . in : l . e . datnoff , w . h . elmer , and d . m . huber ( eds .). mineral nutrition and plant disease . aps press , st . paul , minn . huber , d . m . 1978 . disturbed mineral nutrition . in : j . g . horsfall and e . b . cowling ( eds ), plant disease , an advanced treatise , volume 3 , how plants suffer from disease . academic press , ny . huber , d . m . 1980 . the role of mineral nutrition in defense . in : j . g . horsfall and e . b . cowling ( eds ), plant disease , an advanced treatise , volume 5 , how plants defend themselves . academic press , ny . huber , d . m . and r . d . graham . 1999 . the role of nutrition in crop resistance and tolerance to diseases . in : z . rengel ( ed . ), mineral nutrition of crops . food products press , london . johal , g . and d . m . huber . 2009 . glyphosate effects on diseases of plants . european journal of agronomy 31 ( 3 ): 144 - 152 .
the present disclosure is directed toward a composition and method of treating and preventing infection of pathogenic microorganisms and endopyhtic microorganisms in a plant through the use of phosphite compositions .