The Citrus Research and Development Foundation’s April board of directors meeting showed the foundation’s commitment to fighting citrus greening.

The sentiment by Florida citrus growers attending the Citrus Research and Development Foundation’s (CRDF) April board of directors meeting was clear: time is running out. ““We also had several growers in attendance who impressed upon the board the urgency of finding solutions; that time is running out,” Rick Dantzler, CRDF’s chief operating officer said in a Citrus Industry article. “The board heard the message clearly. In fact, since 10 of the 13 board members are growers, they are in the same boat,” Dantzler added. The meeting focused on hearing reports about projects for fighting citrus greening. See the details below.

Projects for Fighting Citrus Greening

Reports of CRDF-funded projects that focused on citrus greening included:

  • “Projects involving 2,4-D, gibberellic acid, brassinosteroids and zinc.”
  • “A proposal for field trials to evaluate the effectiveness of injecting oxytetracycline (OTC) to treat HLB”….they “would involve grower-cooperators working with CRDF and likely the manufacturers of the OTC formulations and injection devices tested.”
  • “that grower-cooperators for the Ridge and Flatwoods are still needed for rootstock trials. The level of financial incentive for cooperators equates to what one would receive as a Citrus Research and Field Trial participant, which is $4,400 per acre for Hamlin and $3,400 per acre for Vernia and Valencia.”
  • A presentation from UF/IFAS microbiology professor, Zhonglin Mou, “on the status of the GMO trees he has created and how he intends to transition the work to non-GMO through CRISPR.”
  • A presentation from Harold Browning “on the status of laser etching.”

CRDF “has sped up the process of funding research by using a directed research model instead of a conventional request for proposal.”

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