About the research program

Citrus Greening, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB), is the most important citrus plant disease worldwide. The core mandate of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL is to conduct practice-oriented research to develop environmental-friendly innovations with and for farmers and the food industry. Concerning HLB, since 2011, FiBL, together with partners from Mexico, has been conducting different research activities to develop and test different interventions to mitigate and control Citrus Greening in the context of organic production. This involves both direct and indirect measures to reduce the level of disease infection and strategies to increase citrus plants' resistance to disease.

The research results obtained until now (see Our research and Resources) reveal that an optimal combination of the most promising technological innovations is the way forward to control HLB infections in organically managed citrus orchards. This involves alternate weed cutting (to promote natural biodiversity and beneficial insects), applications of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae by specific thresholds values (to directly reduce the number of transmitting insects), and  the use of ‘charged biochar’ in combination with organic fertilisers (to enhance water and nutrient uptake by citrus trees).

All research activities of the program are currently implemented at two sites in Mexico. It is the interest of the program to validate the technologies mentioned above also in other contexts. As the Citrus Greening disease is also a threat for Mediterranean countries, the program would be keen to link up with European partners to introduce the most relevant measures in organically managed orchards.

The Coop Fund for Sustainability has been supporting this program, which will last at least until 2024.