Battling Citrus Greening
Huanglongbing (HLB), known as Citrus Greening, was discovered in Florida in 2005. Since then, it has devastated the state’s citrus industry, and there is still no broadly accepted cure or single fix adopted industry-wide.
The crisis
Citrus Greening has no known cure - and the industry is running out of time.
Huanglongbing (HLB), known as Citrus Greening, was discovered in Florida in 2005. Since then, it has devastated the state's citrus industry with no established solution in sight.
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) was created in 2008 and has spent over $70 million attempting to combat HLB. Their August 2017 bactericide trial, covering 131,000+ acres, concluded that multiple years of treatment are necessary before hoped-for results could appear.
Antibiotic-based approaches such as oxytetracycline have drawn significant criticism from the scientific community and public health advocates.
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) was created in 2008 and has spent over $70 million attempting to combat HLB. In its August 2017 bactericide trial, covering 131,000+ acres, the program reported that multiple years of treatment may be necessary before hoped-for results could appear.
CitruSaver field results — Hamlin and Valencia (early observations)
Third-party field work summarized on this site has reported measurable responses within about 4.5 to 6 months on Hamlin and Valencia trials. Individual grove outcomes vary; see linked trial pages for scope and methods.
Why we developed CitruSaver
CitruSaver Fertilizer was designed, studied, and developed in response to the long-term pressure Huanglongbing (HLB) has placed on Florida citrus. Our formula has been evaluated in third-party field trials, and we continue to invest in research and product refinement to support growers who need practical, irrigation-based options outside of antibiotic trunk programs.
Antibiotics in citrus — concerns raised in public debate
Citrus greening has drawn national attention, and the use of antibiotics in groves has been covered critically in outlets such as National Geographic. Groups including “Keep Antibiotics Working” have asked regulators to revisit emergency registrations for agricultural uses of oxytetracycline, citing concerns about implications for antibiotic effectiveness in human medicine. Broader discussion of antibiotic overuse has also highlighted the risk of resistant bacteria.
Research context on antibiotic resistance (general)
The National Institutes of Health and other health bodies have documented rapid emergence of resistant bacteria globally and the threat that poses to the effectiveness of antibiotics when they are overused or misused.
CRDF 2017 bactericide trial — scale and mixed site outcomes
The August 2017 CRDF trial treated more than 131,000 acres with products including MycoShield, FireLine, and FireWall. Public summaries from that period indicated that multiple years of treatment might be needed before hoped-for results. In the “CRDF Bactericide Field Trial Update” presented at the Citrus Expo on August 17, 2017, eight of sixteen trial sites reported decreases in fruit yield compared with untreated trees.
