Citrusbusters

European citrus is under threat.
We build smart solutions with growers and scientists.
Early detection, plant resilience, and biocontrol solutions.

EU funded

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🍊 New #CITRUSBUSTERS series: one workpackage at a time. First stop, WP1: surveillance & early detection.
71–79% HLB accuracy from microbiome. Six "survivor" trees in Brazil. Drones over Spain. https://t.co/FlIBKrS61s

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🍊 The future of crop protection might not be about adding chemistry. It might be about activating the chemistry plants already have. A new #CITRUSBUSTERS-supported review in The Plant Journal explains how.
📖 https://t.co/FlIBKrS61s

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

Europe’s #citrus future is being tested in Brazil. 🍊

At the #CITRUSBUSTERS Year 1 #meeting in Limeira: 71-79% HLB detection accuracy, 6,000 resistant-tree candidates in the field, and the first draft genome of Trioza erytreae.

More: https://t.co/TrTvNNMxZI

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🍊 One year in. #CITRUSBUSTERS heads to São Paulo, where HLB has already cost ~30% of Brazil's #orange groves.

Two days of project review and field visits with our host CCSM-IAC. For us, Brazil isn't a case study. It's the field.

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

What if you could silence a citrus pest at the genetic level?
That's what RNAi does, and it's what #CITRUSBUSTERS is developing against HLB vectors.
No broad-spectrum insecticides or residues. Just precision.
Have you heard of RNA-based tools in crop protection before? 👇

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🔬𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠 𝐿𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟 (pathogen responsible for HLB) cannot be grown in a lab.

How do you test a treatment against a pathogen you can't grow?

🌐 In this article, we explain why HLB is a threat for Citrus Production in EU: https://t.co/cjA7o00N02

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🍊  𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐋𝐁 (citrus greening), 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞.

It colonises the tree's phloem, disrupting nutrient flow and slowly killing the plant.

🌐 https://t.co/5F8ssq4lqd

[Citrusbusters @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: https://t.co/n1Uno8qgmg

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🍊 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: https://t.co/uSliZ7SHWX

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

♻️ 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.

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🧪→🌱→🌳 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

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🍟🍅🍋𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬, s𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞

POMATO and CITRUSBUSTERS support:
🔬 Resistance gene identification 
🤖 Early detection tools & natural control solutions 
🌱 IPM toolbox 
📢 Cross-sector uptake 

➡️ https://t.co/jxSk9ZgnLv

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🔬 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.

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🍊 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.

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

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.

👉https://t.co/f5mhS5qG1f

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

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

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

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.

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🎯  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

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🍊 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.

[Citrusbusters @Citrusbusters]

🌱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.