Florida Citrus Mutual has confirmed that the state legislature has agreed to fund US$9.5m in research-related activities, in a bid to combat the spread of Huanglongbing (HLB), commonly known as citrus greening disease.
The funding is part of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' (FDACS) 2013/14 budget, and is made up od US$8m for Greening reserved research, and incremental funding of US$500,000 for each of the related FDACS programmes, including citrus nursery certification, citrus germplasm facility and citrus pest management.
'Of course commissioner Adam Putnam has done yeoman's work to help our industry battle HLB,' said Michael Sparks, executive vice-president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. 'He knows we are in the fight of our life and this state investment is critical to get some short-term research answers. We also commend state legislators for showing this level of commitment to one of the state's most important signature industries.
Governor Rick Scott still must approve the budget, the group noted.
HLB is a vascular disease vectored by the Asian citrus psyllid and found in all of Florida's 32 citrus producing counties, with the ability to kill a tree in two years.
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