FALL 2018
Citrus Research Board Celebrates 50 Years!
View the Fall 2018 Issue
SUMMER 2018
A New Way to Control Invasive Ants – Pg. 30
View the Summer 2018 Issue
LATEST NEWS & EVENTS
REGISTER TODAY: Joint Conference of the IOCV XXI and IRCHLB VI Coming to Riverside, CA
Citrus Research Board and UC create a $1 million endowment for citrus research
VISALIA, CALIF. – October 22, 2018 – The Citrus Research Board and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources have established a $1 million endowment to fund the Presidential Researcher for Sustainable Citrus Clonal Protection at the UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center. The endowed researcher will provide a UC Cooperative Extension scientist a dedicated source of funds to support scholarly activities focused on the long-term sustainability of the citrus industry.
“I wish to thank the Citrus Research Board for establishing the Presidential Researcher for Sustainable Citrus Clonal Protection at LREC endowment,” said UC ANR vice president Glenda Humiston. “This gift, coupled with the $500,000 match from the UC Office of the President, will help to ensure the long-term success of exemplary research focused on the California citrus industry.”
Citrus Research Board Announces Interim President
VISALIA, CALIF. – October 8, 2018 – The Citrus Research Board (CRB) is pleased to announce Franco Bernardi will serve as the organizations interim president. As of October 15, Bernardi will lead daily staff operations and management.
“We are extremely fortunate to be able to call on one of the leaders of our industry to steer the helm as our search committee looks for a full-time president,” said CRB Chairman Dan Dreyer, who will announce Bernardi’s appointment formally on October 10 at the annual California Citrus Conference, which is attended by hundreds of citrus growers, researchers and other industry representatives.
Release of Citrus HLB Research Funders Initial Collaboration Meeting Final Report
On August 7-8, 2018, twenty-one federal and state citrus research funding agency representatives met at the USDA Agriculture Research Service Horticulture Laboratory in Fort Pierce, Florida to discuss the recommendation made by the 2018 National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) study on HLB research for all the HLB research funding agencies “to develop a fresh systems approach to HLB research prioritization and strategic distribution of resources for research leading to effective HLB management.”
The meeting opened with presentations by Dr. Tom Bewick, National Program Leader, USDA NIFA, Dr. Jacqueline Fletcher, Regents Professor Emerita, Oklahoma State University and chairman of the NASEM HLB Research committee and Dr. Jeff Gwyn, Program Director of the International Wheat Yield Partnership. Each of these presenters made the case for a coordinated funding model for HLB research. Dr. Fletcher, in particular, amplified the recommendations that the NASEM committee put forth, calling for greater coordination among the state and federal agencies funding HLB research.