This is a 3 year study to provide a side-by-side comparison of 5 soil-applied commercially available products as well as an organic mulch as recommended by growers. The impact of treatments on tree health, foliar nutrition, disease rating, HLB status, root density, yield and fruit quality will be evaluated. Trials will be located in 3 Florida sites: Central Ridge, East Coast and Southwest and will incorporate well-managed trees with HLB but that are as healthy as possible. Each trial will be large enough to be statistically significant with treatments within label guidelines to avoid need for crop destruct or permitting. Objectives of the Project: Test 5 soil-applied products, with mulch subplots, plus an untreated control (6 treatment plots) on health and HLB status of orange trees over 3 years. The 6 treatment plots of 20 trees each will be replicated 4 times plus mulch subplots at the 3 sites will include: 1. BioFlourish (Triangle Chemical).3 applications per year; 2. Ecofriendly Citrus Soil Amendment. 8 x per year; 3. Serenade Soil (Bayer CropScience) 3 x per year; 4. Aliette (Bayer CropScience) 3 x per year 5. Quantum product line 12 x per year; 6. Untreated control (3 mulched trees only 1/year) Our responsibility is to analyze microbe products, analyze root mass, Las in the root, survival or colonization of microbes in the roots, and indicator strains of microbial diversity in the soil. We have received soil samples and root samples from all three sites and have analyzed the effect of different treatments on root mass. No significant effect was observed for all the treatments. The DNA from rhizosphere soil was extracted and Illumina Miseq 300 bp pair end sequencing was conducted to determine the survival of bacteria in the products and the effects of the application to the rhizosphere bacterial community. For each treatment, 50 cc soil from each of the 6 uniform trees of one replicate were combined and the roots were extracted, then the rhizosphere soil (root attached soil) was collected for DNA extraction as one sample. Thus, there were 24 DNA samples (6 treatments*4 replicates) for each field trial. For all the three sites, there were 72 DNA samples. For 16S V3-V4 region 2*300 Miseq sequencing, the DNA from 4 replicates were pooled together and treated as one sample, so there are 6 samples (6 treatments) per site and 18 samples totally. The aim is to check the survival of applied bacteria, and the effects of application of commercial bacterial products on the native rhizosphere bacterial community. Totally 4.2 Million paired end reads were generated. The clean pair end reads were merged based on overlap information and demultiplexed based on barcode sequences. The merged sequences were aligned to the 16S v3-v4 region based on Silva v119 database and the OTU tables as well as taxonomic annotations were generated using MOTHUR pipeline. The results suggested the bacterial community in site C (east coast trial site) was very different from the other two sites, while the site A and site B shared more similar bacterial community based on the prevalent bacterial community (OTUs relative abundance>1%) . No OTU in the prevalent bacterial community was identified to be derived from the applied bacteria containing products in this study (e.g. Bio Flourish). Based on the whole bacterial community (OTUs relative abundance>0.1%), the samples from each site were grouped together and the three sites formed three separate groups. Mg and P were suggested to contribute to the bacterial community in site A while element Fe and K contributed to the bacterial community in site C. The contribution by treatments was minimal. The result was consistent with the VPA result, which suggested site location was responsible for 93.2% of the bacterial community difference observed in this study, while the treatments contributed 0.1% of the bacterial community difference observed.
This is a 3 year study to test 5 soil applied treatments to prevent HLB infection in newly planted citrus trees and also the test the ability of treatments to maintain tree health should they become infected. The materials are to be Product A – Numbered Compound. Product B – Aliette Product C – Serenade Soil as well as 1 combination of A+B. The impact of treatments on new tree health, foliar nutrition, disease rating, HLB status, root density, subsequent yield and fruit quality will be evaluated. The trial will be located at a single Florida site and will incorporate well-managed trees from a commercial nursery in a new planting. This trial will be large enough to be statistically significant with treatments within label guidelines for products B and C which are registered for citrus. Our main responsibility is to examine annual root density and Las population in the root in year 2 and year 3. Product C contained Bacillus subtilis as active ingredient, so the root colonization and survival rate in soil were tested under greenhouse conditions. 15 ml of product C was applied to Valencia seedlings. The roots and rhizosphere soil were harvested at 1dpi (days post inoculation), 7 dpi and 15 dpi for root colonization and survival analysis. The analysis for other products is ongoing. Product A was not available, product B did not contain bacteria. Based on the proposal, the root density and bacterial survival rate will be determined at end of 2015 or at beginning of 2016. No samples were received for testing in this report period.
Antennal responses of psyllids to citrus volatiles and degradation products of citrus volatiles were studied using EAG and GC-EAD recordings. The antennal responses showed that psyllid olfactory system can detect and respond to the degradation products of citrus volatiles. Behavioral experiments using Y-tubes to study the choice behavior of psyllids elicted poor responses to these antennally active odorants. The poor behavioral response may correspond to the ineffectiveness of these odorants in eliciting a long range odorant detection. So we performed experiments to study the short range odorant detection of these same citrus volatiles using a SPLAT probing assay to assess the probing behavior of psyllids. SPLAT probing choice assay measured both insect orientation from several cm to the source of volatiles (olfaction) and subsequent probing behavior that may result from a combination of olfaction and gustation upon contact with a wax substrate containing odorants. Experiments were performed using response surface methods to identify primary drivers in a 4-component mixture design to identify an optimal blend of the primary drivers for maximum probing by D. citri. Different odorant blends were prepared based on the results of the EAG studies. The proportion of different odorants in each blend were calculated using a Design Expert program. Test compounds were incorporated in a slow-release wax matrix for volatiles (SPLAT , ISCA Technologies Inc., Riverside, CA) and offered to caged D. citri adults. Treatments (SPLAT plus odorants) were applied as 1 ml narrow strips or beads (2.0 x 0.5 x 0.1 cm) to 6 glass cover slips and air-dried. Cohorts of 200 5- to 8-d-old D. citri adults were starved for 6 h and then released into each cage and allowed to probe for 21 h under temperature and humidity controlled conditions. To visualize stylet sheaths produced by feeding attempts on the SPLAT beads, the cover slips were removed from the cages and beads were stained with Coomassie blue dye, washed in water and allowed to air-dry. The number of salivary sheaths in each bead was counted under a stereomicroscope at 4X magnification. SPLAT beads containing odorant blends received more probes (salivary sheaths) compared to single odorants. Male and female psyllids responded consistently to formic and acetic acids by EAG and GC-EAD. Incorporation of those compounds into the feeding assay slow-release matrix allowed us to examine behavioral response to odorant blends. Probing by D. citri of the feeding substrate increased with the addition of a blend of formic and acetic acids compared with the unscented control. A 2:1 proportion of formic: acetic acids received the highest number of probes compared to single odorants including formic acid, acetic acid, ocimene and citral. We are now pursuing the hypothesis that additional odorant compounds, not stimulatory by themselves, may augment the probing response when combined with formic and acetic acids. The addition of these odorant blends can increase the probing behavior of psyllids. This research finding will have important practical use of being used as a phagostimulant, which could improve the efficacy of pesticides and other pest management strategies.
Citrus groves at three locations that received a second year of application of DCEPT CLM continue to be monitored for disruption of trap catch and for citrus leafminer damage and populations. Citrus flush has been sampled twice during 2015 growing season and evaluated for the number of mines present and the developmental stage of the leafminer larvae present within the mines. These data are still being collected. Analysis should appear in the next quarterly report for this project.
This overall 3 year project was focused on determining the optimum combination of chemotherapy, thermotherapy, and nutrient therapy that can be registered for use in field citrus and control HLB. In this quarter (July 2015 to September 2015), we continue to evaluate 1) the effect of Pen and SD on control of HLB disease by gravity bag infusion in the field; 2) the efficiency of effective chemical compounds (Pen, SDX, Pcy and Carv) against HLB disease by gravity bag infusion; 3) the effectiveness of a combination of chemotherapy, thermotherapy and nutrient therapy against HLB in the field trials. The chemical compounds (Pen and EBI-602) and additional nutrients were applied to the heat-treated citrus for two times by foliage spray, using our optimized nano-delivery system. The preliminary results showed that these integrated treatments improved the citrus growth and lessened the Las bacterial titers in the treated HLB-affected citrus trees. In this quarter, we tried to optimize and develop another new formulation for trunk-painting. The new formulation had lower viscosity, and was stable after heat treatment at 40 C and cold treatment at -20 C. When this formulation was applied on citrus trees in the field, it stuck to the citrus trunk while showing no phytotoxicity to the trunk or leaves of the treated citrus. In next quarter, the effective antibiotic Pen will be prepared in this formulation for evaluating delivery efficiency and therapeutic efficiency of Pen against HLB disease. EBI-602 and Pen prepared in this formulation will be applied on HLB-affected citrus by trunk-painting in the field.
The canker field trial of Zinkicide compared to industry standard management on grapefruit showed better control of canker on fruit than all other treatments. We also observed control of some fungal pathogens. A second year of this field trial to confirm the results and test the consistency of control is well underway. Although there was a slow start to the rainy season, this has picked up in the later half of the summer, so we should have sufficient disease pressure to compare efficacy among treatments Dr. Santra’s group has improved synthesis of Zinkicide to reduce the amount of some ingredients needed for synthesis while maintaining efficacy. This improvement is aimed at reducing cost of production. He is also investigating a second formulation of Zinkicide optimized for trunk injection that might facilitate rapid registration. The research team continues working on commercial production and registration for canker although the time line for registration is still too preliminary to accurately predict.
The canker field trial of Zinkicide compared to industry standard management on grapefruit showed better control of canker on fruit than all other treatments. We also observed control of some fungal pathogens. A second year of this field trial to confirm the results and test the consistency of control is well underway. Rainfall through the beginning of the summer at the field trial site was minimal. Without further rain later in the season there could be insufficient disease pressure to assess canker control. Dr. Santra’s group has improved synthesis of Zinkicide to reduce the amount of some ingredients needed for synthesis while maintaining efficacy. This improvement is aimed at reducing cost of production. He has also begun investigating possible registration and commercial production.
July 2015 The objectives of this proposal are 1) to determine if a) leaf litter biodegradation treatments reduce Guignardia spp. pseudothecia and improve control afforded by routine fungicide applications; b) if biodegradation is affected by the current fungicide application practices; and c) whether the biodegradation treatments will affect current citrus best management practices (BMP); 2) to determine the seasonal dynamics of leaf litter inoculum load in varying management regime intensities and how environment affects pseudothecia production in the leaf litter; 3) to test if the resistance to black spot in the leaves and fruit in sour orange is correlated and under simple genetic control through laboratory and field testing of progeny of sour orange crosses in both Florida and Australia. In the large field trial, there was ten times more G. mangiferae than G. citricarpa in the leaf litter. In 2014, there was no pattern in the number of leaves with Guignardia structures over time in any treatment. The treatment with the greatest number of leaves with structures was urea over all. In 2015, the pattern of structure formation was consistent across treatments and over all the treatment with the fewest structures was urea. The DNA analysis of the 2015 leaf litter has not yet been completed. The bagasse field trials confirmed the laboratory experiments that bagasse increased the leaf decomposition rate compared to nothing or urea. Greater soil moisture also accelerate leaf decomposition. The manuscript preparation continues. From April 13th to July 30th, nine batches of samples of citrus leaf litter were routinely collected from orchard near Immokalee. Each batch of samples contains 40 samples of 25 leaves collected below 40 trees. Leaves were examined under microscope to check for fructification of Phyllosticta spp. Leaf portions without fructification were discarded and the remainder were immersed in 0.02% tween20 to collect conidia and ascospores. Conidia and ascospores produced in leaf litter were quantified, weather data were collected from FAWN. These new data will be combined with the other data to analyze the seasonal dynamics of Phyllosticta spp. spores. In Australia, work continues on the mating and production of ascospores for Phyllosticta on leaf disks in culture. After 6 months they are still under observation. No inhibition is seen between isolates unlike on culture media. There is good growth of asexual structures. Inoculated fruit are still under observation in the field. Some accessions have started to mature and so far the results are as expected with sweet orange related fruit but many relatives have not reached maturity yet. They are repeating the fungicide work to confirm previous results.
July 2015 The objectives of this proposal are 1) Determine the base line level of Guignardia citricarpa sensitivity to fungicides registered for disease control in citrus and evaluate new products for efficacy against G. citricarpa in vitro; 2) Conduct and improve implementation of spray trials for efficacy of registered products for citrus and to evaluate novel compounds in the field; 3) Optimize field evaluation of control measures through analysis of the spatiotemporal disease progress utilizing past and current field data of the outbreaks to gain knowledge on the incidence, severity and rate of the epidemic and assess the fungal population to increase the likelihood of successful field research and 4) Evaluate products and treatment conditions for postharvest control of citrus black spot. This quarter we accomplished: Objective 1: Manuscript preparation continues for the DMI fungicides. Assays with SDHI’s are continuing and different media are being evaluated for best functionality. Experiments with Cannonball and Vanguard are continuing. Most of the mycelial tests are complete and spore germination assays are underway. Objective 2: Fungicide trials were initiated in May 2014 and completed March 2015. Thirteen different fungicide regimes utilizing eight materials, both registered and experimental, were evaluated for their effectiveness in suppressing CBS. Fruit were assessed on the tree for the proportion of symptomatic fruit as well as the proportion of symptomatic fruit on the ground. Several fungicides regimes showed significant differences at one or more rating and results from this and previous trials are being used for product label expansion for CBS. Objective 3: Sites were re-mapped in December 2014 to assess changes (trees pulled and/or re-planted) between the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 citrus seasons. Trees were mapped for the presence or absence of CBS in two Valencia groves. Positive trees were defined as having fruit with at least a single hard spot lesion. The hard spot lesion was chosen due to its ease of recognition as a symptom of CBS. Data for CBS were collected from both groves between December 12th 2014 and April 16th 2015. Grove I consisted of 2144 trees (22 rows x 103 tree spaces; 122 spaces open). Eighty trees were positive for CBS (3.7%). Grove II consisted of 4347 trees (36 rows x 127 tree spaces; 225 spaces open). Seventeen percent (739/4347) were positive for CBS. The binomial dispersion index (D), revealed clustering of symptomatic trees for both groves in all quadrant sizes tested. Monte Carlo simulations for the L function in R confirmed CBS aggregation for both groves. Monitoring will continue through the 2015-2016 citrus season. Objective 4: Fruit quality measurements were made on fruit tested with carvacol and thymol. Peel injury was noted with both treatments but especially for thymol.
The overall objective of this project is to investigate the feeding deterrence provided by reflective colored kaolin clays on citrus plants from Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP). Kaolin clay product is an EPA approved pesticide and currently employed for crop protection in apples, pears, melons and citrus. Most of the studies in this project have been performed with kaolin clays including Surround kaolin clays product. Colored kaolin clays were developed using select dyes, including FDA certified colorants approved for agricultural use by the EPA (list 180.920), covering the range of visible spectrum. Surface modifications were performed with surfactants and polymers to adsorb dyes on clay surfaces. Methods were further developed to minimize the leaching of the dyes from the particles. Ten different colored clays were developed with reflectance in the visible region with dyes e.g. FD&C Blue 1, FD&C Red 40, Basic Blue 54, Crystal Violet, and FD&C Yellow 6, D&C Violet 2 etc. The optical properties of the clays were determined by total reflectance and colorant strength measurements. Reflectance measurements showed that each material has an altered absorption peak and reflectance not exhibited by the unmodified clay. Particle size distribution and zeta potential measurements were also performed to determine the physical characteristics of the suspensions. While the zeta potential of the unmodified kaolin clay was found to be negative, the surface modifications and doping of clay material with the dyes, led to significant changes in the zeta potential. The effect of colored clay coatings on photosynthesis was measured in leaves of selected citrus plants with a LiCOR 6400 gas exchange system under greenhouse conditions. While four kaolin coatings showed higher mean photosynthetic values and four lower, as compared to unmodified Surround clay. The decrease in the photosynthesis due to coatings is expected since they change the reflectance of the leaves. However, as compared to greenhouse, field grown trees are often light saturated and white Surround clay coated trees have shown higher photosynthesis rates in field. One of the limitations of the particle film technology has been the wash-off due to rainfall. Preliminary studies were performed to improve the rain fastness tests using commonly used stickers, binders and viscosity modifiers. Adjuvants such as Kollicoat (dispersion of poly vinyl acetate) and polymer adjuvant (sodium poly acrylate) showed improvement in rain fastness, withstanding up to 5-7 cm rainfall. Further studies are required to determine adjuvants that can increase the adhesion of the kaolin clays to withstand up to 15 cm rainfall. The ability of the colored clay coatings to adequately coat a leaf surface and alter preferred portions of reflected light was determined using reflectance and colorant strength measurements on citrus plants. Uncoated leaves generally had the lowest reflectance values across the visible range of photosynthetically active wavelengths. The majority of the Kaolin suspensions flattened the reflectance curve relative to uncoated leaves by increasing reflectance. Two clays FD&C Violet and Cert Green Kaolin solutions had higher reflectance values across the 400-700 nm range. Colorant strength measurements performed separately using portable spectrophotometer showed that thick coatings are effective in significantly altering the colorant strength of the leaves. For example while FD&C Red 40 and Bright red increased the red scale FD&C Blue 40 and FD&C Violet significantly increase the blue strength as compared to uncoated citrus. Dye-doped clays that significantly altered the reflection of the foliage were used for the ACP inhibition tests. In choice tests, ACP showed minimal preference for leaves coated with red colored clays as compared to uncoated and Surround clay coated plants. These results demonstrate the contribution of the visual deterrence in ACP s feeding behavior.
Canker disease on fruit and foliage is under evaluation in the following 2015 trials: 1) Canker management in grapefruit: Foliar applications of novel bactericidal formulations are compared with standard film-forming copper and zinc formulations: 1) Nordox 75WG, 2) Nordox 30/30 with 0.5 lb of metallic copper and an equivalent amount of metallic Zn, 3) Nordox 45/15 WG, 4) 2 Zinkicide formulations 5) 6 T-sol formulations; 6) CuSiNG-Quat-P (Cu+Quat), 7) Fixed-Quat DDAC, 8) CS-CuSiNP, 9) SG0025 (treatments 4-9 are experimental formulations from Dr. Swadesh Santra, a Nano-chemist at Univ. Central Florida), 10) Untreated check 2) Canker management in Hamlin: Foliar applications of standard film-forming copper formulations and soluble copper formulations are compared in 4 yr old trees 3) Greenhouse assay to evaluate local systemic and residual activity of selected UCF formulations and FireWall against Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri on potted Pineapple orange trees inoculated by injection infiltration 4) Assessment of Cu bioavailability and residual activity on grapefruit for copper oxide (Nordox 75 WG) and the copper-zinc formulation Nordox 30-30 during two periods of summer season (July and August) to test whether zinc may be enhancing the bioavailability of Cu from the copper oxide in the 30/30 formulations compared to 75 WG copper oxide alone
Report for period ending 4/30/15 (FINAL REPORT) Work continued on our previously reported efforts to determine the level of imidacloprid in leaf tissue required to prevent ACP phloem feeding behaviors. In particular we have focused efforts at measuring the levels of neonicotinoids in different parts of the leaf tissue and how that changes with time. While this work is still underway, progress to date does show uneven distribution of neonics within a leaf that changes over time. There also appears to be some difference in movement patterns between the different neonics which may be due in part to their differences in water solubility. Further work is ongoing to better characterize these movement patterns and use that information to then determine when retreatment of plants is needed in order to ensure psyllids are not able to feed successfully on treated plants. Use of EPG techniques to determine the level of imidacloprid needed to prevent phloem feeding behaviors has continued. While still ongoing, we have narrowed down the LC50/LC90 for feeding disruption and should be able to be begin work soon for the other neonicotinoid compounds. This work will be continued in the coming year to help refine the use of soil-applied nenicotinoids for protecting young trees from HLB via disruption of psyllid phloem feeding behaviors.
Report for period ending 3/31/15 Activities of the CHMA program assistant (1/1/15-3/31/15): During this reporting period, the CHMA assistant provided support to the CHMA program by attending various local CHMA meetings as well as statewide and multi state meetings. Specifically, Mr. Page attended 12 meetings including the following: CHMA grower round table meeting in Sebring (1/7/15), Southeastern Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah (1/8/15 – 1/10/15), Highlands county OJ break (1/22/15), CHMA Hardee county grower forum (1/23/15), Florida citrus show in Ft. Pierce (1/27/15 – 1/29/15), Hardee CHMA meeting (1/30/15), AFVGA (2/5/15 – 2/7/15), IRCHLB meeting (2/9/15 – 2/13/15), CHMA meeting in Ft. Pierce (2/18/15), Highland county grower forum (3/4/15), IRCHLB growers day at CREC (3/12/15), and East coast CHMA organizational meeting (3/19/15). Mr. Page also hosted visitors from Brazil and China who visited to learn more about the CHMA program and exchange information about programs being utilized in other countries. In addition to helping plan and CHMA meetings, Mr. Page continued to keep the CHMA website updated, sending out updates to the individual CHMA listserves, adding names to the listserves, and updating the ACP trend graphs and CHMA rankings. During this period, Mr. Page also worked with USDA ApHIS regarding technical glitches with the scouting data and with Tim Riley’s assistance got this resolved. He also worked with the software company that designed the CHMA mapping program to fix some problems with the program following updates. Mr. Page also continued to work with the new Citrus Economist at CREC to collect data from growers in different CHMAs and use that data to analyze citrus production in trends in areas with and without functioning CHMAs to determine the value of CHMAs in terms of increased production value.
Report for period ending 4/30/14 (FINAL REPORT) During the period of 12/31/14 to 4/30/15 this project focused on completing the season-long field trial examining the potential for movement of neonic residues into nectar to determine whether there was any potential risk of season-long repeated applications of soil-applied neonics to pollinators. These studies were conducted at the request of the EPA in order to maintain the expanded labeling of soil-applied neonics for use in citrus. This field work began in April of 2014 with neonic applications being applied to assigned blocks of 5′ tall trees every 6 weeks. The final plots were treated in October of 2014. Because our previous work suggested that neonics are likely to move into nectar at differing rates, we examined seven different schedules (treatment rotations) of neonics applied every 6 weeks. The rationale for the different rotations was to determine if there was a potential risk identified, could that risk be mitigated by changing the schedule of products applied. During the bloom period in spring of 2015, approximately 200 flowers were collected as pooled samples from ten trees in each plot. There were five replicate plots for each of the 7 rotations examined plus five untreated plots for a total of 40 plots sampled. The blooms from each plot were collected into paper bags and taken back to the lab where the nectar from each bloom was collected using capillary tubes until at least 1 ml of nectar was collected from each plot. The nectar collected was then extracted and frozen for subsequent analysis using LC/MS/MS. Analysis of the nectar showed as expected that there was difference between neonics in likelihood of movement into citrus nectar. However, for all neonics rotations tested, the average expression of residues in nectar was far below the level of concern to pollinators proposed by the EPA. Thus, no significant risk to pollinators was found in this season-long field trial where applications were ceased 2 months prior to bloom (per label directions) for trees 5′ or greater in height. These results confirm our finding in previous studies that under FLorida growing conditions and soil types, repeated use of neonics (every 6 weeks) DOES NOT have a cumulative negative effect in terms of increased neonic expression in nectar.
Report for period ending 6/30/15 (Final Report) Activities of the CHMA program assistant (4/1/15 – 6/30/15): During this reporting period, the CHMA assistant provided support to the CHMA program by attending various local CHMA meetings as well as statewide and multi state meetings. Specifically, Mr. Page attended 11 meetings including the following: Citrus grower’s Institute in Avon Park (4/7/15), citrus extension planning retreat (4/8/15 – 4/9/15), CHMA meeting in Avon Park (4/15/15), Hardee CHMA meeting (4/17/15), CHMA meeting in Immokalee (4/21/15), Volusia county CHMA meeting (4/24/15), CHMA meeting in Wauchula (4/24/15), Lake county grower round table (5/20/15), grower round table discussion in Wauchula (5/21/15), Florida Citrus Mutual Annual meeting (6/17/15), and the East coast CHMA planning meeting (6/24/15). In addition to helping plan and CHMA meetings, Mr. Page continued to keep the CHMA website updated, sending out updates to the individual CHMA listserves, adding names to the listserves, and updating the ACP trend graphs and CHMA rankings. Mr. Page also continued to work with the new Citrus Economist at CREC to collect data from growers in different CHMAs and use that data to analyze citrus production in trends in areas with and without functioning CHMAs to determine the value of CHMAs in terms of increased production value. Over the past year of funding, grower interest and participation in the CHMA program has continued to remain high. At present there are 48 CHMAs functioning across the state with additional groups functioning as CHMAs but not necessarily formalized on the CHMA website. The CHMA program has continued to keep information up-to-date on its website that has been used to document areas where the program is working well and areas where improvement is psyllid control is needed through better coordination of activities. To further document the success and benefits of the CHMA program, information has been gathered from growers from around the state to compare production costs and fruit yields. The results has shown that participation in a CHMA can have a positive effect on fruit yields. Dr. Ariel Singerman presented this information recently at the Florida Citrus Mutual Annual conference in Bonita Springs. These data will help to further increase and motivate grower interest in the CHMA program in the coming year. Plans for the coming funding cycle include further analysis of this type of data to show the continued benefit of participation in a CHMA over time.
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