research

Evolving Research Priorities for Florida Citrus

Daniel Cooper CRDF, Research

Last week, growers convened in Avon Park for the annual Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute. The daylong seminar program provides updates on the latest research in the fight against HLB and other production issues facing growers. Rick Dantzler, chief operating officer of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), presented an update on the organization’s research priorities. He noted that CRDF …

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Three Key Meetings for CRDF

Daniel Cooper CRDF

The February board meeting of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) covered a lot of ground according to Rick Dantzler, the foundation’s chief operating officer. “We had a big day on the day of the board meeting. There were three meetings: 1) our monthly board meeting; 2) a research summit with citrus organization leaders, the CRDF board and CRDF …

CRDF Off to a Busy Start in 2024

Tacy Callies CRDF, HLB Management, Pest Management

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) kicked off the new year with a full agenda for its monthly board meeting. New members were welcomed to the board. Growers Matt Machata, Sarah Spinosa and Trevor Murphy joined the group. On the research front, the board funded continued work by Ping Duan, a plant pathologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. …

CRDF Puts a Bow on a Busy Year

Tacy Callies CRDF

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) held its final board of directors meeting of the year on Dec. 12. According to Rick Dantzler, CRDF chief operating officer, it was a productive meeting. “We funded projects on plant breeding and evaluation,” Dantzler said. “We also approved research to look for ways to maximize the use of oxytetracycline (OTC) as a …

Seeking Injection Alternatives and Additions

Josh McGill CRDF, HLB Management, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) approved three new projects during its September board of directors meeting. The projects will test the injection of different antimicrobial materials to treat HLB. One project will be managed by Ozgur Batuman, a citrus pathologist with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). Another will be run by Kranthi …

Trunk Injection Research Projects Summarized

Josh McGill CRDF, HLB Management

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) recently issued a report describing some of its projects testing the injection of oxytetracycline (OTC) into trees as an HLB treatment. 1. Lukasz Stelinski and Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski, both of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), are measuring the impact of OTC injection on the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) …

CRDF Board Focused on HLB Treatments

Josh McGill CRDF, HLB Management, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors meeting in July focused largely on the use of oxytetracycline (OTC) as an HLB treatment in citrus. The board considered projects testing it in combination with other antimicrobial compounds or as a standalone treatment. Trunk injection of OTC has given the Florida citrus industry hope that it might be a …

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CRDF Research Priorities Include Trunk-Injection Therapy

Josh McGill CRDF, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) held its June board of directors meeting in conjunction with Florida Citrus Mutual’s Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference in Bonita Springs. The June gathering is when the CRDF board passes its budget for the next year. The board funded a project by Zhanao Deng, professor of environmental horticulture with the University of Florida …

May CRDF Meeting Focuses on Money Matters

Josh McGill CRAFT, CRDF

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors attended to budgetary matters during its May meeting, as the end of the fiscal year nears. “We decided to transfer our remaining uncommitted funds from what we had budgeted for new research to the Citrus Research and Field Trial program to help growers treat mature trees with new therapies,” said …

Exploring Additional Antimicrobials for Citrus Injection

Josh McGill CRDF, HLB Management, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors invited six full proposals on combining other antimicrobials with oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC-HCl) during its April meeting. “If growers are going to pay the labor costs for workers to crawl underneath a citrus tree to treat it with OTC-HCl, maybe there are other things that could be mixed with the injection,” …

Latest CRDF Funding Includes Oxytetracycline Hydrochloride Projects

Josh McGill CRDF, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors convened its March meeting with a busy agenda, addressing fast-moving current events. Discussion focused on newly approved oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC-HCl) trunk-injection products currently being applied in groves. The board funded a project to measure the impact of OTC-HCI applications on the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP). Specifically, the study will determine …

CRDF Funds Project to Arrest HLB Bacteria

Josh McGill CRDF, Research

At the latest Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors meeting, funding was approved for a project by Robert Turgeon. He is a professor of plant biology at Cornell University. “Dr. Turgeon is considered by some to be the world’s foremost expert on phloem physiology. If his project succeeds, it could solve our problem with HLB,” CRDF chief …

The Advantage of Youth

Josh McGill CRDF

Morgan McKenna Porter brings new energy to the Citrus Research and Development Foundation. By Ernie Neff New Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board President Morgan McKenna Porter was born Feb. 29, 1992. There’s only a Feb. 29 every fourth year, a leap year. “So,” she quipped, “CRDF has a seven-year-old president if we go by my leap year age.” …

Sneak Peek: March 2023 Citrus Industry

Josh McGill CRDF, HLB Management, Sneak Peek

The March cover of Citrus Industry magazine features a fresh face in a key industry leadership role for Florida. Morgan McKenna Porter is bringing youthful energy to her new title as president of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors. In the cover story, learn about her background as well as her CRDF goals for helping growers …

CRDF Board Off to a Busy Start in 2023

Josh McGill CRDF, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) kicked off the year with its monthly board meeting in January. The board invited three researchers who had submitted pre-proposals to submit full proposals during the meeting. One proposal will study if the ingestion of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC-HCl) will minimize the amount of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) in the gut of “hot” (or …

CRDF Allocates Year-End Funds to HLB Research Projects

Josh McGill CRDF, HLB Management, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) met for its December board meeting to discuss several topics before heading into the new year. One of the bigger areas of discussion was what to do with available uncommitted funds. “The board decided to fund work on several questions growers have regarding the use of bactericides inserted through systemic delivery devices and …

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CRDF Funds CRAFT and Pest Projects

Josh McGill CRAFT, CRDF, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) was able to hold its September board of directors meeting just prior to Hurricane Ian. During the meeting, CRDF awarded funding for Cycle Four of the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) program. This will allow for another round of investments in grower-led research projects. “Kristen Carlson, Tamara Wood, the Technical Working Group …

CRDF Reviews Audit and Analyzes Budget

Josh McGill CRDF, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors gathered for its August meeting. Its first order of business was a review of an auditor’s report. “I’m pleased to report there were no findings. A clean audit is always good news,” said Rick Dantzler, chief operating officer of CRDF. The board dedicated time to the budget, analyzing funds available …

Progress With HLB Products

Josh McGill Citrus Expo, CRDF, HLB Management

Rick Dantzler, chief operating officer of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), spoke during the general session of the Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo. He provided an update on products he hopes will help the citrus industry reset and begin to increase production again. The products are two oxytetracycline (OTC) materials that can be injected into citrus trees. “We …

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CRDF Board Acts on Research Recommendations

Josh McGill CRDF, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors spent much of its monthly meeting in July considering recommendations from the foundation’s research management committee (RMC). TRACKING TREESThe RMC recommended that a request for proposals be put forth to create an inventory of all germplasm existing in field trials from the plant breeding programs CRDF has helped to fund. …