The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced they will invest $22 million to help citrus growers fight Huanglongbing (HLB), commonly known as citrus greening disease.
“Thanks to the continued, coordinated efforts between growers, researchers and state and federal government, we are getting closer every day to ending this threat (of citrus greening),” Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. “The funding announced will help us continue to preserve thousands of jobs for citrus producers and workers, along with significant revenue from citrus sales.”
The disease was originally detected in Florida in 2005 and since then has affected all of Florida’s citrus production. A total of 15 U.S. states or territories, including Texas, have been fully or partially quarantined after the Asian citrus psyllid, a vector for citrus greening, was detected, according to Agri-Pulse.
USDA has incorporated both short-term and longer-term strategies to fight citrus greening The agency released an HLB Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) framework in 2013 to aid federal and state agencies to fight the disease and deliver tools to citrus growers.
The USDA funds are available through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative’s Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program (CDRE).
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will prioritize grant applications that propose multi-state, multi-institutional or trans-disciplinary projects that can be commercialized. Pre-applications are due May 16, and full applications are due Aug. 18.
For more information, visit NIFA’s website.