Business and Financial USDA to Throw $30 Million at Greening Virus Threatening Florida's Citrus Industry

BRADENTON — On Monday, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $30 million in funding for 22 projects to help citrus producers combat Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening, a devastating citrus disease that threatens U.S. citrus production and has been particularly difficult on Florida's orange producers.

Named for its green, misshapen fruit, HLB has killed millions of citrus plants throughout the United States and threatens the long-term viability of the entire citrus industry. It is caused by a vector-transmitted pathogen. Once a tree is infected, there is no cure.

Orange juice sales have been on the decline each year since 2007. As prices spiked in response to a greening sapped supply, Americans purchased just 563.2 million gallons of O.J. during the 2012-2013 season – the lowest amount in 15 years.

The USDA funding, which will come by way of 22 separate projects, will focus on both long and short term solutions.

The promising near-term tools and solutions are funded through the HLB Multi-Agency Coordination Group while the research projects are funded through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative/Citrus Disease Research and Education (SCRI/CDRE) program, which is made available through last year's farm bill.

"Our HLB Multi-Agency Coordination Group has worked closely with the citrus industry to select and fund projects that we think will make a real difference for growers against HLB," said Vilsack. "Funding these projects through cooperative agreements puts us one step closer to putting real tools to fight this disease into the hands of citrus growers." Vilsack continued, "Through the CDRE research we are announcing today, we are also investing in long-term solutions to diseases that threaten the long-term survival of the citrus industry."

USDA's HLB Multi-Agency Coordination Group funded fifteen projects that support thermotherapy, best management practices, early detection, and pest control efforts for a total of more than $7 million. All of them are designed to provide near-term tools and solutions to help the citrus industry fight HLB.

One project will train dogs to detect HLB infected trees. Detector dogs have proven to be highly adept at detecting citrus canker and early results suggest they will be an effective early detection tool for HLB.

The remaining $23 million will come from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture and will be used to study lasting solutions to citrus greening disease. Examples of funded projects include developing HLB-resistant citrus cultivars, the development of field detection system for HLB, using heat as a treatment for prolonging productivity in infected citrus trees, creating a new antimicrobial treatment, among others.

CDRE is a supplement to the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI).The focus of this year's funding was specifically on citrus greening disease. Because there are wide differences in the occurrence and progression of HLB among the states, there were regional as well as national priorities for CDRE.

These priorities, recommended by the Citrus Disease Subcommittee, fall within four categories: 1) priorities that deal with the pathogen; 2) those that deal with the insect vector; 3) those that deal with citrus orchard production systems; and 4) those that deal with non-agricultural citrus tree owners.

For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.