Promising Leads in the Fight Against Citrus Greening

We regularly report on funding going toward citrus greening research, so it's encouraging to see some potential treatments emerging from that work.

At the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, researchers are testing potential therapies by injecting them directly into the trunks of citrus trees in commercial groves.

Researcher Lukas Hallman says they're testing everything from antibiotics to naturally derived compounds.

It's part of an initiative called Grove-First, and so far, they've screened more than 400 potential treatments.

Here's the encouraging part. About 20 have shown enough promise to move into further testing.

Researchers have injected more than 2,500 citrus trees this year alone, monitoring tree health, fruit production, and quality to see what works.

And the research is already reaching beyond citrus. Hallman is collaborating with USDA scientists in Washington state, applying lessons learned in Florida to potential treatments for a bacterial disease affecting peaches and cherries.