California Ag Network

Tag: CRB

  • Citrus Research Board Secures Immense Support from Citrus Growers

    California citrus growers voted to continue their support of the Citrus Research Board (CRB) by a broad margin in a state-mandated referendum.

    The just-concluded referendum, which must be held every five years, was conducted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). A majority of eligible citrus producers cast their vote and their support was nearly unanimous – 97.80 percent, representing 99.51 percent of the state’s citrus volume, voted in favor of continuing the CRB.

    CDFA Marketing Branch Chief Joe Monson said, “Since the referendum results exceed the criteria required for continuation stated above, the Department has authorized the Program to continue operating for another five-year period, through September 30, 2027.”

    Over the past five years, the CRB has worked continuously to advance findings within our four research priorities: vectored diseases, pest management, production and post-harvest technology, and new varieties. Much of the research has focused on the deadly disease huanglongbing (HLB) and advancements have been made to keep the infections from spreading in California. The disease has devastated other citrus growing regions, including Florida, but the diligence of California’s growers has kept HLB from entering any of the state’s commercial groves.

    “We are pleased to once again receive the support of the industry,” said CRB President Marcy L. Martin, “and we look forward to continually improving upon the scientific pillars that allow the California citrus industry to thrive.”

    The CRB administers the California Citrus Research Program, the grower-funded and grower-directed program established in 1968 under the California Marketing Act as the mechanism enabling the State’s citrus producers to sponsor and support needed research. More information about the Citrus Research Board may be found at www.citrusresearch.org.

  • Citrus Research Board Awarded $3.4 Million to Fund HLB Research

    The Citrus Research Board (CRB) has been awarded $3,438,059 in funding from the Huanglongbing Multi-Agency Coordination Group (HLB MAC) to support its California Focused Citrus Research and Field Trials (CRaFT).

    The overarching goal of the CRaFT project is to demonstrate additional mitigations to improve psyllid control within commercial citrus groves across the various citrus growing regions in California. This information will inform areawide control efforts and demonstrate the benefits of control mitigation measures currently available to growers for regional, state, and national benefit. This project aims to demonstrate reduced psyllid levels (through trap, tap, and visual monitoring) within treated groves as a year-by-year measurement and relative to the regional psyllid levels.

    “We are excited to develop the first CRaFT project for citrus in California, as this project will bring new energy to the fight against HLB and benefit growers across the state while investing in vital research,” said CRB President Marcy L. Martin.

    A group of 10 industry members will steer the project through the CRaFT Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) in conjunction with the CRB. This combined group will work with industry personnel to recruit growers in various regions to implement innovative psyllid management strategies. Growers who apply and are selected will receive reimbursement for costs associated with participation in the program.

    The project will be administered over two years by the CRB, with the intent to renew. Efforts in year one will include creating a foundation for the program while conducting trap-based monitoring. Data from these measures will be collected and summarized to demonstrate changes in psyllid populations from resulting mitigation measures. Semiannual grower meetings and quarterly CRaFT TAC meetings will be initiated to review project progress and identify any potential project issues.

    Year two will expand on previous efforts to provide data demonstrating changes in psyllid populations from applied mitigation measures. Findings will be summarized and shared with industry members to promote effective treatments.

    The HLB MAC group was established as an emergency response framework to better position the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to coordinate the citrus industry’s immediate and long-term needs in dealing with HLB. HLB MAC funds projects to drive innovative solution-oriented research while delivering effective and practical tools to growers.

    In addition to funding for the California Focused CRaFT project, other programs awarded funding for FY2021 include:

    • $4,061,941 to Texas (CRaFT project)
    • $676,665 to USDA Agricultural Research Service (expand data management tools to support these projects)

    For more information about the California Focused CRaFT Project and HLB MAC, visit www.citrusresearch.org.

    The CRB administers the California Citrus Research Program, the grower-funded and grower directed program established in 1968 under the California Marketing Act as the mechanism enabling the State’s citrus producers to sponsor and support needed research. More information about the Citrus Research Board may be found at www.citrusresearch.org.

  • $45 Million in Funding for Citrus Research Awarded

    A total of $45 million in funding for citrus research during the 2020-21 fiscal year was awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension (ECDRE) Program. The ECDRE Program addresses priorities identified by the Citrus Disease Sub-Committee of the National Agricultural Research, Education, Extension, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board by sponsoring research projects designed to provide solutions to the U.S. citrus industry. For the 2020 fiscal year, the ECDRE program selected 12 projects to receive awards.

    With funding support from the Citrus Research Board (CRB), Pepsi Co and Coca-Cola, and a consortium led by the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), NIFA awarded a $10 million grant for their on-going coordinated agricultural project with Bayer Crop Science. The project seeks to identify and develop therapeutics for HLB and the presumed HLB pathogen ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas). Researchers are investigating synthetic and microbial therapeutics for further characterization and optimization, intending to develop therapeutics for commercialization.

    According to the CRB President, Marcy Martin, “Success with this project will help all citrus growers, not just those from a particular state. We like that CRDF and CRB were able to team up on this worthy project.”

    Among this year’s awardees, three current and past CRB-funded California researchers from the University of California were awarded $12.5 million between three projects. CRB-funded researcher Chandrika Ramadugu, Ph.D., was awarded $4.7 million to lead efforts to evaluate novel citrus hybrids for tolerance/resistance to HLB in multi-state field trials in California, Texas, and Florida. Caroline Roper, Ph.D., received $6.5 million to unravel the underlying mechanisms of tree health in HLB impacted groves and develop a set of best practices for extending the life and productivity of citrus groves. Past-funded CRB researcher Yen-Wen Kuo, Ph.D., was awarded $1.41 million to explore utilizing insect-specific viruses to manipulate the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) and its associated microbes to limit psyllid activity and disease spread potentially.

    CRB-funded researchers Vivian Irish, Ph.D., from Yale University, Anne Simon, Ph.D., from the University of Maryland, and Robert Shatters, Ph.D., from the USDA Agricultural Research Service also received awards. Irish is spearheading research with a $1.5 million award to identify HLB susceptibility genes in citrus, which will assist in future breeding efforts. Simon received $1.5 million to lead efforts to develop a phloem-restricted viral vector that could be used to directly target CLas in the phloem or modulate citrus host responses. Shatters has received $9.4 million to explore the development of an in-field therapeutic screening system with accompanying delivery systems. Past-funded CRB researcher Goutam Gupta, Ph.D., was awarded $4.8 million to lead efforts in developing novel therapies for the prophylactic and curative treatment of HLB.

    Additionally, researchers from the University of Florida and the University of Maryland received awards to study CLas, ACP and HLB strategies.

    Click here for more information on project scope and activities can be found at. The CRB congratulates all awardees for the 2020 fiscal year cycle and looks forward to seeing the results from these studies.
     
    About the Citrus Research Board

    The CRB administers the California Citrus Research Program, the grower-funded and grower-directed program established in 1968 under the California Marketing Act as the mechanism enabling the state’s citrus producers to sponsor and support needed research. More information about the Citrus Research Board may be found at www.citrusresearch.org.