Location: Subtropical Plant Pathology Research
Project Number: 6034-22000-042-020-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jan 1, 2017
End Date: Nov 30, 2019
Objective:
1) Perform a high throughput screening of small molecules in order to identify those effective against HLB via our newly developed pipeline in an effort to define novel effective chemicals that are worth pursing in future field trials.
2) Determine the optimum application times and effective dosages of select antimicrobials through the completion of a field evaluation study composed of three chemotherapy compounds and their respective control treatments.
3) Evaluate the fruit quality and quantity post treatment and perform a chemical residue analysis.
4) Evaluate the economic viability and performance of the treatments in the field study.
5) Inform stakeholders of the project's results and provide actionable recommendations for HLB therapy with cost effective protocols.
Approach:
The overall goal of this project is to mitigate citrus HLB in the United States via effective application of selected antimicrobial compounds. This project will identify and assess the most cost-effective treatment for effective and sustainable HLB control by 1) deploying an inexpensive and accelerated screening procedure that greatly enhances our ability to find novel, active compounds through the incorporation of chemical libraries involved with medicinal drug discovery; 2) evaluating pre-selected effective chemicals to determine optimum application times and effective dosages for a field setting; 3) determining if the fruit quality and quantity in treated HLB-affected trees can recover to healthy unaffected tree levels; and 4) assessing the practicality of the treatment options from the growers perspective by providing an economic analysis of chemotherapy methods; all while 5) continuously communicating project advancements with the stakeholders to facilitate the acceptance and integration of new chemistries into growers’ management programs.
