Post by CITRUSBUSTERS Project

Europe’s citrus future is being tested in Brazil. 🍊 #CITRUSBUSTERS partners met at CCSM-IAC in Limeira, in the heart of Brazil’s citrus belt, for the project’s first year-in-review. Why Brazil? 👉 Because Huanglongbing, also known as HLB or citrus greening, has already cost Brazilian growers around 30% of their orange groves. The disease and its insect vectors are moving closer to Europe. After 12 months, the project has early results: 🟠 Bioclear earth built predictive models that detect HLB with 71 - 79 % accuracy using microbial signatures from citrus trees. 🟠 CCSM-IAC planted 6,000 gamma-irradiated sweet orange plants under natural disease pressure to search for resistance. 🟠 AINIA assembled the first draft genome of Trioza erytreae, the African citrus psyllid already present in parts of Spain and Portugal. 🟠 Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche identified the chemical fingerprint of Citrus Black Spot. A field device that can “smell” the disease is now closer. 🟠 Universidad Politécnica de Madrid turned orange and mandarin peels into bioactive fractions that help activate citrus immune defences. 🟠 PEDAL Consulting shared outreach progress across citrus and juice communities from Jakarta to Cape Town, Orlando, Lyon and India. Day 2 focused on impact. Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH) led a co-creation workshop with stakeholders. Citrus pests are getting closer. So are the solutions. 👉 Learn more in the new article: https://lnkd.in/diuaSaFV #CITRUSBUSTERS #HLB #CitrusGreening #SustainableAgriculture Centro de Citricultura Sylvio Moreira - Instituto Agronômico (CCSM-IAC) Chemia S.p.A. IFU International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association Anecoop ASAJA (Asociación Agraria-Jóvenes Agricultores)

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