1. Please state project objectives and what work was done this quarter to address them:
Objective 1: Destroy declining plant material with no direct use to the citrus industry to make space for Stage I and Stage II trials (Years 1 and 2).
During this previous project period, more acreage has been removed at multiple locations on CREC property. The heavy equipment that is used to push trees at the Center was under repair, but it is now back up and running, now getting an approximate 10 acre space ready for two Stage II trials, one of which is the Coca Cola Company’s CRDF-sponsored trial and the other will be a trial with mostly sweet orange. The space is cleared for the consolidation block and this involved destroying additional plant improvement material that was in poor condition and seemed to be of no use to the citrus industry, as it was taking up space on CREC property and was not being used for crosses to the best of my knowledge. The irrigation has been installed in anticipation for the trees that were budded off from the healthiest in CREC Plant Improvement.
Objective 2: Conserve, move, consolidate, and propagate tolerant and resistant citrus trees to a centralized location. (Years 1 and 2).
Hundreds of trees have been propagated according to the nursery involved in the legal budding of these healthiest and most valuable accessions. I am currently waiting for a report from the nursery on what is ready and what needs to be budded again. Previously, I was informed of these hundreds of trees budded, nearly all have successfully been propagated and I have no reason to believe anything has changed. During this period, the tree spade was borrowed and damaged by USDA-ARS personnel. USDA-ARS personnel asked to use the spade for one day and then borrowed it for weeks, only to return it in a damaged, unusable state. I was required to contact the mechanic and get additional repairs. I used funding for this grant to repair those damages and it took several weeks to get the spade repaired and returned. This caused a major delay during a critical time of the project period. Based on the results of tree movement, it is likely that trees will need to be spaded, left in place until new a rootball is formed, and then moved to reduce stress. It is also likely that the largest, most promising trees may need a larger tree spade. Compost will be incorporated in the sandy soil to improve water retention and foliar fertilizers will be applied to help nurse trees that have been stressed. Several trees have survived movement and with the correct methods and equipment and personnel, I am confident that the healthiest trees can be moved to conserve the HLB tolerant specimens.
2. Please state what work is anticipated for next quarter:
Tree spading and developing less stressful methods of tree movement will continue as will removal of additional space. I intend to attend a CRDF meeting to report on the progress and to ask for guidance on moving forward with conserving the most HLB tolerant germplasm in the UF/IFAS citrus breeding program.
3. Please state budget status (underspend or overspend, and why):
Budget is underspent (81% time spent versus 64% funding expended) because we are waiting for the invoice from the nursery. We anticipate this to even out by the end of the project period.