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PREVENTING HLB EPIDEMICS FOR ENSURING CITRUS SURVIVAL IN EUROPE

Project description

Preventing an HLB epidemic in Europe

Huanglongbing (HLB) is an incurable plant disease that is killing citrus trees worldwide. All commercial citrus species and cultivars are vulnerable to this disease. The arrival of the African citrus psyllid to Europe, a sap-sucking insect known to carry the bacterial causal agent of the HLB disease, has sounded the alarm. The psyllid has been reported in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Though extremely difficult to control, prevention of an HLB epidemic is key. The EU-funded PRE-HLB project will develop and implement a holistic contingency plan to protect Europe’s citrus sector. It will also co-create new solutions to manage the disease through a multidisciplinary approach. One of the project’s main goals is to improve current HLB surveillance, contingency and control strategies.

Objective

The EU citriculture is threatened by the emerging disease Huanglongbing (HLB, also known as Greening), considered the most devastating citrus disease due to its rapid dispersal, severity and fast progression of symptoms, huge losses in fruit production and quality, cost and difficulty of preventing new infections, lack of resistant citrus varieties and economically feasible treatments for infected trees, and absence of durable control mechanisms. HLB generates multimillion economic losses to citrus industry. Now it is time to start the research in the EU because the vector Trioza erytreae has been detected and is spreading in Spain and Portugal.
The overarching objective of Pre-HLB is to develop and implement a holistic contingency plan to protect the citrus sector in the EU from HLB disease drivers and to co-create new solutions to manage the disease through a multidisciplinary approach and in collaboration with experienced partners from America and Asia.
The Pre-HLB work plan includes three specific objectives to monitor progress:
a) Pre-HLB preventive actions and development of mid-term tools will limit HLB potential introduction, reducing the potential economic impact in EU (estimated in 7.7 billion euros) by 40%
b) The consortium will contribute to improve current HLB surveillance, contingency and control strategies. Up to 100,000Ha of citrus cropping area will be monitored to obtain field information on potential HLB infection and the dynamics of the vector in the subareas of highest risk, thus limiting disease/infestation spread.
c) Excellent European research centres will join forces to fill research gaps in vector biology, host/vector/pathogen interactions, Aurantioideae genetics and genomics, as well as to develop new biotechnological tools, such as new effectors, metabolites, bio-stimulants and biopesticides.Results will identify HLB-resistance traits and will allow to generate long-term resistance.This is one major milestone in the field of citriculture.

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RIA - Research and Innovation action

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-SFS-2018-2020

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Coordinator

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 744 842,50
Address
CALLE SERRANO 117
28006 MADRID
Spain

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Region
Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid
Activity type
Research Organisations
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 744 842,50

Participants (23)

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