UF researchers develop tree that could combat greening in Florida citrus

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University of Florida (UF) researchers say they are making progress on a possible breakthrough that could save Florida citrus growers from experiencing devastating crop losses.

UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) researchers say they are developing a “genetically edited tree” that is now being tested in the university’s labs and greenhouses. The effort is seeking to stem the damage to produce by small insects that infect citrus trees and cause greening, hampering one of Florida’s most important agricultural commodities.

The UF researchers are inserting a gene into citrus trees that possibly can combat young Asian citrus “psyllids,” or bugs that transmit the greening disease.

“This gene provides instructions for the new citrus tree on how to make this protein. Thus, when you put the gene into the tree, the plant produces the protein that kills psyllids. While this approach can kill baby psyllids … scientists are close to finding a solution to control the adult pests,” a UF news release said Thursday.

Florida’s citrus production has struggled in recent years, in part due to significant impact from storms as well as the effects of citrus greening.

“We are trying to deploy a biotechnological solution that is sustainable, easy for growers to deploy and replaces the need for spraying insecticides,” said Lukasz Stelinski, an entomology professor at the UF Citrus Research and Education Center. “That can’t be done completely with the current trees and thus it might require some additional, albeit reduced, insecticide spraying for adults, for example.”

The greening condition was first reported in Florida 20 years ago. Its scientific condition is called Huanglongbing (HLB) and it damages citrus trees and the produce citrus growers harvest. There have been few answers to the issue since it first appeared in 2005, the UF news release said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing funding for citrus greening researchers looking for a breakthrough that will stem the condition.

“Now, they must prove this method works in the field — and they’re still a few years away from perhaps reaching that conclusion,” Stelinski said. “They hope to begin testing the trees in about a year.”