CarriCea

CarriCea Rootstock Registration Is ‘a Major Milestone’

Daniel CooperHLB Management, Regulation, Rootstocks

Growers association Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) on April 28 called the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) approval of Soilcea’s CarriCea™ T1 citrus rootstock registration “a major milestone.”  According to FCM, CarriCea™ T1 is a first-of-its-kind citrus rootstock designed to tolerate citrus greening disease. It works by precisely editing the rootstock’s own genes, disrupting the bacterium that causes greening from interacting with the …

trunk injection

How Trunk Injection Is Affecting Psyllid Populations

Daniel CooperEvents, HLB Management, Psyllids

Research and field trials have been fairly consistent in showing that trunk injection of oxytetracycline (OTC) will reduce the HLB-causing bacteria in citrus trees, resulting in improved yield and quality. But what happens to the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) when it feeds on treated trees? The answer to that question is becoming clearer now from research conducted by the University …

trunk

Trunk-Injection Takeaways Presented

Daniel CooperHLB Management

Researcher Ute Albrecht on April 21 shared lessons learned from three years of oxytetracycline (OTC) trunk injection for HLB management in Florida. Albrecht is an associate professor with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) specializing in citrus plant physiology. She works at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center. Albrecht reported on results of a …

eggs

Three Bugs That Eat Asian Citrus Psyllid Eggs

Daniel CooperBiologicals, HLB Management, Psyllids

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers have found three commercially available insect species that devour the eggs of the HLB-spreading Asian citrus psyllid. These natural predators could become an important new line of defense against the devastating citrus disease. This is particularly true for organic growers who have limited options to control the psyllid, said …

research

Research Confirms OTC Improvements in Groves

Daniel CooperEvents, HLB Management

The Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute was held at South Florida College in Avon Park last week to share the latest research from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). Besides hearing presentations, attendees had an opportunity to interact one-on-one with scientists at 21 learning stations covering topics like entomology, citrus breeding, weed control and soil nutrition. …

supplemental

Supplemental Nutrition Mitigates HLB Symptoms in Mandarins

Daniel CooperHLB Management, Mandarins, Nutrition

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) research found that supplemental nutrition mitigates HLB symptoms and improves fruit quality and shelf-life of Sugar Belle and Tango mandarins. Faisal Shahzad, Tripti Vashisth, Mark Ritenour and Jeffrey Brecht, all with UF/IFAS, authored an article in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science about the research. The article …

mandarin

Complex Responses to IPCs in Mandarin Trees

Daniel CooperHLB Management, IPCs, Mandarins

Recent research showed that individual protective covers (IPCs) proved highly effective in reducing Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) populations and thereby preventing HLB infection in three mandarin cultivars. However, overall tree response varied. The research was published in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. The authors are Saoussen Ben-Abdallah, Susmita Gaire, Ute Albrecht, Ozgur Batuman, Jawwad Qureshi and …

positive

California Psyllids Positive for HLB-Causing Bacterium

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, HLB Management, Psyllids

Two adult Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) samples were confirmed positive for Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) in two central California coastal counties on March 10, the Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program (CPDPP) reported. CLas is the bacterium that causes HLB. One sample was collected during a routine commodity survey in a commercial citrus grove in the Fillmore area of Ventura …

ascorbic acid

Study Sheds Light on the Use of Ascorbic Acid With OTC

Daniel CooperHLB Management, Research

Growers have always been innovators, testing new production practices in their groves. When you add a disease like HLB, those experiments get ramped up in the effort to seek solutions. A good example of this was a discussion that began last year among growers that ascorbic acid (vitamin C) might be helpful in extending the effectiveness of the oxytetracycline (OTC) …

improve

Improve Water and Nutrient Retention With Compost and Biochar

Daniel CooperHLB Management, Soil Health, Tip of the Week

By Tripti Vashisth, Abhishek Neupane and Taylor Livingston Florida citrus trees are under pressure from huanglongbing (HLB). The disease weakens root systems, reducing the tree’s ability to take up water and nutrients. Compounding this issue, most Florida groves sit on sandy soils with very little organic matter. These soils drain quickly, struggle to hold nutrients and allow both water and …

purity level

A Pure Product Pays Dividends

Daniel CooperHLB Management, OTC Expert

Sponsored Content Question: Does the purity level of ReMedium TI® help aid the therapeutic response to citrus greening with trees that are under environmental stress? Answer: During the research and development phase of ReMedium TI®, several things were observed that pertain to this question. First, trees that have been under relatively severe stress do have slower uptake of ReMedium TI®. …

plan

Georgia Needs Management Plan for Citrus Greening

Daniel CooperGeorgia, HLB Management

Citrus greening disease has yet to find its footing in Georgia’s commercial citrus. But if it does, Georgia’s growers need a plan in place to manage the disease. Lindy Savelle, executive director of the Georgia Citrus Association (GCA), emphasized that message during last week’s GCA annual meeting in Tifton. “There is a very small amount of the disease in commercial …

purity level

TJ BioTech and AgroSource Settle Patent Dispute

Tacy CalliesHLB Management, OTC Expert

Sponsored Content Question: What is the status of the civil action that TJ BioTech filed against AgroSource? Answer: TJ BioTech LLC filed a civil action in August 2025 and received a preliminary injunction through the district court. This preliminary injunction had the effect of removing AgroSource’s product Rectify™ from the market. This past week, a confidential settlement was reached between …

HLB

Invaio and Fundecitrus Collaborate on HLB Solutions

Daniel CooperHLB Management

Invaio Sciences, Inc. recently announced a collaboration with Fundecitrus (Fund for Citrus Protection), a research organization based in Araraquara, Brazil. The partnership aims to accelerate the development and evaluation of novel solutions — particularly peptide-based technologies — for controlling huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease. The collaboration combines Invaio’s Biologicals by Design™ platform and Fundecitrus’ expertise in grove …

research center

New Research Center in Brazil to Seek Citrus Greening Solutions

Daniel CooperCitrus Greening, International, Research

With an investment of $200 million (in Brazilian reals), three citrus research organizations in Brazil have partnered to create a research center in São Paulo to seek solutions to citrus greening. The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Fundecitrus and Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture at University of São Paulo (ESALQ-USP) agreed on Jan. 12 to establish the Applied Research Center …

Millennium Block

Millennium Block HLB Findings Expected This Year

Daniel CooperHLB Management, Research

Fruit harvested at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Millennium Block from 2022 to 2026 will help determine the effectiveness of potential solutions to HLB. This season’s fruit will be harvested through early February, and research results are expected later this year.  The Millennium Block was planted in 2019 at the UF/IFAS Indian River Research …

productive

Growers Can Stay Productive in the Face of HLB

Daniel CooperHLB Management

Despite declaring there will be no silver bullet for HLB, Ozgur Batuman in a Jan. 21 virtual seminar said growers using integrated pest management (IPM) tools “can stay productive.” However, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences associate professor also warned that producing citrus juice in Florida “will not be easy or cheap.” Oranges are by far …

citrus podcast

All In For Citrus Podcast, January 2026

Daniel CooperAll In For Citrus Podcast, HLB Management

In the latest All In For Citrus podcast, Michael Rogers, director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center, discussed a statewide citrus workshop hosted at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in January. The event provided a day full of educational presentations covering a wide range of topics. Rogers …

workshop

Oxytetracycline Performance Addressed at Citrus Workshop

Daniel CooperEvents, HLB Management

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hosted a statewide citrus grower workshop in mid-January at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. The event offered a full day of education covering a wide range of topics, including management of pests, diseases, weeds and nutrients. Ute Albrecht, UF/IFAS associate professor of plant physiology, provided …