Citrusbusters

🍊 Citrus is under threat. The research to protect it is underway. Are you following it? Our newsletter keeps you connected to the science, the people, and the solutions shaping the future of citrus protection. 👉subscribe: citrusbusters.eu/newsletter/

🍊 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 “𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬” Worth a read for anyone working across the citrus and juice value chain. Check it: fruitjuicefocus.com/latest-issue

♻️ By valorising processing residues and prioritising safe, non-synthetic approaches, we aim to deliver preventive tools that can be scaled for commercial production – helping growers and the juice sector alike.

🧪→🌱→🌳 Promising biofractions move through stepped testing: controlled lab assays, protected citrus trials, then larger-scale evaluation. This phased approach ensures safety, effectiveness and real-world relevance before any wider use. 🔁Follow

🍟🍅🍋𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬, s𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 POMATO and CITRUSBUSTERS support: 🔬 Resistance gene identification  🤖 Early detection tools & natural control solutions  🌱 IPM toolbox  📢 Cross-sector uptake  ➡️ pomato.eu

🔬 We screen candidate extracts for early immune signalling – short-term biochemical responses that happen long before visible symptoms. Identifying reliable early signals helps pick the most promising natural elicitors for further testing.

🍊 We’re exploring how citrus processing residues can be transformed into biofractions that stimulate plants’ own defences. These nature-based leads could become gentle, scalable tools for preventive plant protection.

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐚𝐛 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬: 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 🤝Science tailored to growers’ needs 🤝Tools designed for processors and suppliers 🤝Faster uptake means stronger, more predictable supplies. 👉citrusbusters.eu

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 – 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞 ✈️  Monitoring imports + rapid diagnostics reduce introduction risk ✈️Border vigilance complements on-farm early detection

𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 = 𝐣𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 🥤 Climate change + global trade = higher pest & disease pressure, ➡️ For juice brands, investing in early warning and resilient material is an investment in supply security.

🎯  Rather than broad, non-selective treatments, CITRUSBUSTERS focuses on 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: • RNA interference (RNAi) targeting disease vectors • bacteriophage-derived endolysins against pathogens ➡️minimal impact on beneficial organisms

🍊 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲-𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 In our project, we extract bioactive compounds from orange and mandarin peels, assessing their ability to trigger plant immune responses. 🌍 Less waste, less chemicals, stronger natural plant defences.

🌱In CITRUSBUSTERS, we: • screen large mutagenized citrus populations, • develop 𝐃𝐍𝐀-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 approaches, • work in full alignment with current and emerging EU regulatory frameworks. 🎯 Long-term resilience against HLB - safely and sustainably.

Thermal imaging picture credits: lnkd.in/dcKXbbM4

🛰️ No single technology can capture the complexity of plant health. CITRUSBUSTERS combines multiple monitoring tools: •airborne sensing (LiDAR, hyperspectral, thermal imaging), • High spatial resolution ground-based platforms • visual & 3D data at canopy level. 💭

🔬 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬. Within CITRUSBUSTERS, we focus on: • shifts in soil, root, and leaf microbiomes, • early biological signals preceding visible damage, • anticipation rather than late-stage reaction. 🍋Follow

🍊 CITRUSBUSTERS develops an  𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐈𝐏𝐌)strategy where each component reinforces the others. Early detection → identifying risk Plant resilience → reducing vulnerability Precision biological control → targeted intervention

📨 CITRUSBUSTERS Newsletter #1 is out! Curious to live our journey till now? If you work in biotech, plant health, citrus production or processing, this is a practical snapshot to stay up to date. 👉 Read & subscribe to receive our bi-annual updates: lnkd.in/dgtu7qK2

🔔✉️ Our newsletter keeps you connected to the science, the people, and the solutions shaping the future of citrus protection. 🧷 If citrus is part of your work, your research, or your region, subscribe now : shorturl.at/ECSZW

🧬 At Fruit Attraction, AINIA introduced one of CITRUSBUSTERS’ key technological pillars: 𝑅𝑁𝐴 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 (𝑅𝑁𝐴𝑖) 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡-𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑦. 💡Together, for plant health and improved crop management.