California Citrus Mutual and the Citrus Research Board were recently awarded $1 million in new federal funding for critical research programs that support the U.S. and California citrus industries, according to a news release.
The 2023 appropriations bill passed by Congress last week includes continued funding to help stop the deadly citrus plant disease Huanglongbing, also known as HLB, which has devastated citrus production in Florida and other parts of the country. Additionally, $1 million in new funding was approved to establish a citrus breeding program at the USDA Agriculture Research Service field station in Parlier, Calif. This funding will be reappropriated annually.
“The addition of the breeding facility in Parlier will make the ARS Citrus Program a truly national project,” California Citrus Mutual President and CEO Casey Creamer said in the release. “We look forward to watching the growth of this program and its collaboration with the University of California breeding program to find solutions to the issues California citrus growers are faced with every day.”
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Championed by California Sen. Alex Padilla and Reps. Jim Costa and David Valadao, the new California citrus breeding program will identify new citrus varieties that are best suited for changing climatic pressures — such as drought — and consumer taste preferences, and are resistant to common pests and diseases such as HLB.
“Expanding the current national citrus breeding program into California will have a significant impact on California’s citrus industry as growers aim to mitigate the evolving issues that affect production and increase yield through varietal research,” Marcy L. Martin, Citrus Research Board president, said in the release.
Expanding citrus breeding programs to the West Coast
The program is an expansion of the existing national USDA ARS citrus breeding program in Florida, which is focused primarily on varieties that are optimized for that state’s growing conditions. The Florida program has resulted in new varieties with higher yields, increased disease resistance, improved color and a longer shelf life, according to the release.
With such advances being made in Florida, California Citrus Mutual and the Citrus Research Board saw the need for a similar program in California to breed fresh citrus varieties that are better adapted to the unique environmental conditions of California’s production regions.
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The Citrus Research Board, a grower-funded organization with a mission to further the citrus industry’s research priorities, also has committed $500,000 toward establishing the new breeding program in Parlier, Calif., with the goal of bringing more representation to the state’s industry, according to the release.
“The commitment of the citrus industry to delivering quality research and innovation for all farm use has taken a big step forward with the support of congress funding the citrus breeding program in Parlier,” Justin Brown, the board’s chairman, said in the release.
The Florida and California breeding programs along with the continued efforts of the University of California citrus breeding program at the University of California, Riverside will work together to deliver the best results for California citrus growers, according to the release.
Additionally, the 2023 federal budget includes continued funding for the Citrus Health Response Program, which supplements industry and state funding for on-the-ground efforts aimed at preventing the spread of HLB and continued funding for the Huanglongbing Multi-Agency Coordination group, which funds research programs aimed at identifying short-term solutions to HLB.
