Harold Browning, chief operations officer of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), reports on the first month of grower bactericide use on Florida citrus. Topics he addresses include options for the number of applications per year and product availability. He also discusses a soon-to-be-released document CRDF is developing that will provide instructions for growers on how to set up bactericide field trials to compare treatment plans. The information is expected to be available on CRDF’s website in early April.
About CRDF:
In April 2009, the National Academies of Science, at the request of the Florida Department of Citrus, formed the National Research Committee on Strategic Planning for the Florida Citrus Industry: Addressing the Citrus Greening Disease (Huanglongbing). At the same time, the forward-looking citrus industry in Florida initiated the Citrus Research and Development Foundation. When the National Research Council’s report was published in March, 2010 it included a recommendation that one organization be identified and empowered to have oversight responsibility over HLB research and development efforts.
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation is a non-profit corporation organized under Florida State laws as a Direct Service Organization of the University of Florida.
The Mission of the Foundation is to “Advance disease and production research and product development activities to insure the survival and competitiveness of Florida’s citrus growers through innovation”.
The organization is headed by a 13-member Board of Directors that includes individuals from industry, academia and government. The COO handles the day-to-day management of business affairs, and Program Manager oversees the research portfolio.
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