PRE-HLB

PRE-HLB’s objective is to develop and implement a comprehensive contingency plan to protect the EU citrus sector 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 the Americas and Asia.

CHALLENGE

EU citrus farming is threatened by a disease called Huanglongbing (HLB). It is currently considered the most devastating citrus disease due to its rapid spread, severity and rapid progression of symptoms, the huge losses in production and fruit quality, the cost and difficulty in preventing new infections and the lack of resistant citrus varieties and economically viable treatments for infected trees. The vector T. erytreae has been detected and is spreading in Spain and Portugal.

SOLUTION

PRE-HLB will implement preventive actions and tools to limit the potential introduction of HLB, reducing the economic impact in the EU. It will implement HLB surveillance, contingency and control strategies in the medium term: up to 100,000 Ha will be monitored to obtain field information and study the vector dynamics, thus limiting the spread of the disease. PRE-HLB will also develop long-term research on vector biology, host/vector/pathogen interactions, Aurantioideae, as well as the development of new biotechnological tools, such as new metabolites, bio stimulants and biopesticides.

RESULTS

HLB can reduce citrus production by 61%, resulting in an annual economic loss in EU orange, mandarin and lemon production of 34.35 M€, 17.46 M € and 7.4 M€, respectively. The HLB disease poses a threat to more than 516 million trees throughout the European Union. The social impact of HLB will be enormous, as more than 100,000 jobs will be lost in the Spanish sector alone. PRE-HLB expects to reduce all the above-mentioned impacts by 40%.