The Florida Department of Citrus’ Program for Expedited Propagation (PEP) of HLB-tolerant and resistant trees was conceived during the 2022 Florida legislative session following the discovery of the Donaldson tree among the collection at Whitmore Farms. The goal is to provide the resources needed to ramp up availability of Donaldson trees and others like it, so that growers interested in replanting will have access in the nearest possible term.
In addition to expedited nursery propagation of certified Donaldson material, non-certified (also known as “dirty”) materials may also be available to grower cooperators for topworking field trees (with a long-term maximum of 50 total non-certified trees per location). This material is limited and would require a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Plant Industry (FDACS DPI) Escape Tree Permit.
There are also a small number of non-certified Donaldson trees that will be available for planting in the field via FDACS DPI Escape Tree Permits. The expectation is that three to four growers will receive six to eight trees to plant in an established grove for the purpose of comparison to Donaldson trees soon to be produced from certified budwood.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has requested that all non-certified Donaldson materials have a material transfer agreement that will be administered through New Varieties Development & Management Corporation.
If you are interested in receiving non-certified Donaldson trees to plant in the field or materials for topworking, send an e-mail stating your interest to rwalsh@citrus.myflorida.com no later than Aug. 12, 2022. Please include the following information:
- Company name
- Company address
- Contact name
- Contact phone
- Contact email
- Grove location
Because materials are extremely limited, participants will be chosen by random draw from the pool of interested growers and may not include funding.
Rosa Walsh is the contract manager for PEP and can be reached at rwalsh@citrus.myflorida.com or 863-537-3985.
Source: Florida Department of Citrus
FOCUS KEYPHRASE: Donaldson trees
CATEGORIES: FDOC, HLB Management
TAGS: FDOC, FDACS DPI, New Varieties Development & Management Corporation
ATTACH PICTURE(S) WITH CUTLINES: Donaldson tree
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