The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Monday that it is sending more than $20 million in awards to universities for projects to help battle Huanglongbing (HLB), better known as citrus greening. Almost $9 million of those funds are headed to universities in the Sunshine State.
The money comes from the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program (CDRE) which is administered by the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
Making the announcement on Monday, U.S. Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack noted the problems Florida is having with citrus greening.
"Citrus greening has affected more than 75 percent of Florida citrus crops and threatens production all across the United States," Vilsack said. "The research and extension projects funded today bring us one step closer to providing growers real tools to fight this disease, from early detection to creating long-term solutions for the industry, producers and workers."
Two projects at the University of Florida focused on how bacterium and bactericides can help battle HLB will receive $6.8 million in funds. The University of Central Florida will get almost $2 million for projects to fight citrus greening. Grants were also awarded to the University of California, the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Ithaca, New York, the New Mexico Consortium in Los Alamos and Washington State University.
From his perches as chairman of the Congressional Citrus Caucus and the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., cheered the news.
“This disease continues to challenge growers in Florida, California, Texas and beyond,” Rooney said. “This critical funding is another step in ensuring that Florida orange juice is around for generations to come. I’m hopeful that with these continued efforts we will start to see progress in putting an end to greening.”
Last month, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its latest forecast of Florida orange production and the figures are almost 30 percent below what they were last season.
NASS predicted 69.0 million boxes of oranges from Florida this season, below the 74 million it forecast back in November and the 80 million included in October's forecast. This latest number represents a 29 percent reduction from last year’s output. NASS forecast 36 million boxes of early, midseason and Navel oranges, down 24 percent from last year. The forecast for Florida Valencia oranges stood at 33 million boxes, down 33 percent from last season and an 11 percent drop from NASS’ prediction last month.
Florida frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) continued to drop as well, dropping from 1.56 gallons per box in December to 1.50 gallons a box, the same as last year. This represents something of a sharp drop from more optimistic numbers in the fall. Back in October, NASS forecast 1.61 gallons a box which was lowered to 1.58 gallons per box in November.
The decline in Florida citrus in recent years is mostly the result of citrus greening.
Spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, a tiny insect, citrus greening infects trees, leading to deformed and bitter fruit. Eventually, citrus greening kills the tree. One of the few ways to fight citrus greening is by removing the tree.
In 2013, the Florida citrus industry -- which generates $9 billion and employs more than 75,000 Floridians -- saw its worst year in almost a quarter century and that downward trend has been continuing. Last year, the USDA awarded $30 million to fight citrus greening and, back in April, launched a project with an additional $23 million in grants to fight citrus greening.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
