Since no cure exists for citrus greening-diseased plants, Brazilian researchers are developing ways to modify orange trees and the environment around groves to make it harder for greening-spreading psyllids to thrive. LOCATION AND LAYOUT The ideal grove envisioned by Fundecitrus researchers, in collaboration with the Spanish National Research Council/Polytechnic University of Valencia and Durham University (England), starts with a careful …
Reasons to Believe HLB Is Beatable
Growers gathered in Bonita Springs in mid-June for the Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference. The event hosted by Florida Citrus Mutual drew a good crowd. The mood of growers was mixed. While there was hope that HLB trunk-injection therapies might have resulted in more dramatic improvements to this year’s crop, there also was recognition that these therapies represent one of …
Low pH Does Not Cause Tree Injury in Trunk Injections
Sponsored Content In this special series, Tom Johnson, owner of TJ BioTech, tackles questions about optimizing trunk-injection applications to treat HLB. Q: Some are suggesting that oxytetracycline injections may be creating tree injury due to low pH. What have you learned about this from your ongoing research? Tom Johnson: A substantial amount of research has been conducted by TJ BioTech …
Label Change Is Great News for Growers
Sponsored Content In this special series, Tom Johnson, owner of TJ BioTech, tackles questions about optimizing trunk-injection applications to treat HLB. Q: What does the special local need label for ReMedium TI® mean for citrus growers heading into next season? Tom Johnson: TJ BioTech recently requested a ReMedium TI® label change from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. …
ReMedium TI Receives Exemption From Two-Year Restriction on Applications
ReMedium TI® has received a special local need label from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumers Services (FDACS). The label will remove the requirement that applications to treat citrus greening (HLB) cannot be made beyond two years in a row. For Florida citrus growers, this means those who have applied ReMedium TI® over the past two seasons now will …
International HLB Conference Focused on Grower Solutions
This spring, the seventh International Research Conference on Huanglongbing (IRCHLB) was held in Riverside, California. The inaugural event was held in 2008 and funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture. USDA researcher Tim Gottwald and University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) professor Jim Graham founded the …
Not All OTC Products Are Created Equally
Sponsored Content In this special series, Tom Johnson, owner of TJ BioTech, tackles questions about optimizing trunk-injection applications to treat HLB. Q: The claim has been made that all oxytetracycline (OTC) products are the same. What have you found in your research and development work? Tom Johnson: During the development of ReMedium TI®, we had to determine the formulation, rates …
Study Looks at Interaction Between OTC and Soil Microbiome
A wealth of observations are being recorded by growers and scientists on the effects of trunk injection of oxytetracycline (OTC). Visually, trees have responded with better canopies. Hopefully, higher yields and quality will continue to follow the applications. But what about below ground? There have been recorded improvements in citrus root mass in treated trees. Sarah Strauss, associate professor of …
Task Force and Credit Line to Assist Brazil with Greening
Fundecitrus recently announced two efforts aimed at assisting Brazilian growers with citrus greening. A São Paulo task force will include a focus on the disease, and a credit line will be available for growers with greening in their orchards. In addition to greening, the public/private task force will address development of biofertilizer and biological research, studies to increase productivity in …
Seeking a Partner for OTC
Few would dispute that the approval of oxytetracycline (OTC) for use as a trunk-injection therapy to treat HLB is one of the biggest breakthroughs in the nearly two decades of fighting the disease. Most Florida citrus growers believe the therapy has been a net positive and they are committed to continuing the treatment. However, there’s a stipulation in the labels …
Researchers Discuss Rising HLB Incidence in Brazil
The incidence of citrus greening disease (HLB) in Brazil’s Citrus Belt of São Paulo and Triângulo/Southwest Mineiro rose from 24.42% in 2022 to 38.06% in 2023, according to Fundecitrus. The association’s annual survey indicates the disease increasingly demands more effective and collaborative measures. At a session of Brazil’s Expocitrus in June, Fundecitrus researcher Marcelo Miranda discussed the development of greening …
Study Shows Florida Residents’ Attitudes on HLB
In the fall of 2022, five University of Florida researchers investigated Florida residents’ attitudes on HLB and Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) using online surveys over a 9-month period. The results of the study, Residents’ contribution to Asian citrus psyllid and citrus greening management in Florida residential habitats, was recently published in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management. Authors Romain Exilien, …
Teenager Awarded for Investigation of Alternative Trunk-Injection Treatment
Tanishka Balaji Aglave of Valrico, Florida, received the $10,000 H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research for her investigation into a natural alternative treatment against citrus greening disease (known as huanglongbing, or HLB). Aglave, a 15-year-old who attends Strawberry Crest High School and grew up on a citrus farm, injected the trunks of infected citrus trees with an extract from …
Study Sheds Light on Defense Against HLB-Spreading Psyllids
A study by researchers from the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences and South China Agricultural University sheds light on the genetic mechanisms that can defend against Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) infestation. ACP is the vector for HLB, the most devastating disease of citrus. The study was published in Horticulture Research on April 1. It unveils the roles of two cytochrome …
Sneak Peek: July 2024 Citrus Industry
The conversation in Florida citrus continues to center around trunk injection of oxytetracycline (OTC). The July issue of Citrus Industry magazine presents the latest information on the OTC topic. OTC product labels require a one-year pause in application after two years of use. This requirement was put in place to prevent pathogen resistance to the product. Florida growers who have …
Survivor Grapefruit Cultivars Set for HLB Trials
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) citrus scion breeding program recently rediscovered several noteworthy grapefruit cultivars at the A.H. Whitmore Foundation Farm in Groveland, Florida. Among these are the Florida Red, Red Blush and Henderson varieties. These cultivars were originally selected as long shots from the Whitmore Foundation Farm and were planted in 1986. They have survived …
Cover Crops for Managing HLB
By Davie Kadyampakeni and Miurel Brewer Row middle management is a key area that can improve tree performance. Row middles encompass 80% of citrus orchards, and 70% of the root system of citrus trees was located in row middles before huanglongbing (HLB). Typically, Florida citrus growers manage row middles using physical, chemical and mowing practices, often leaving them free of …
Trunk Injection Shows Positive Results on Early Varieties
Sponsored Content Q: There have been questions about the effectiveness of ReMedium TI® injections on early varieties like Hamlins. What have you seen from the data collected this past season? Tom Johnson: The early varieties respond well to ReMedium TI® injection. We received data from a grower that had three separate blocks of Hamlins. Each block was about 70 acres. …
Interstock Pros and Cons for HLB Management
The pros of using interstocks for HLB management seemed to outweigh the cons, based on a presentation horticulturist Manjul Dutt made at this spring’s Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute. Dutt is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) assistant professor. An interstock is a graft of a citrus selection that can be used as a bridge between …
Have Questions About Trunk Injection? Ask the Expert for Answers
Sponsored Content In this special series, Tom Johnson, owner of TJ BioTech, tackles questions about optimizing trunk-injection applications to treat HLB. Q: Are there any advantages or disadvantages to making a ReMedium TI® Injection in the rootstock or the scion? Tom Johnson: To start, agronomically there is really no difference in a ReMedium TI® injection into the rootstock or the …