Will New HLB-Resistant Rootstock Change the Game for Florida Citrus?

Florida-based company Soilcea is supplying more than 300,000 citrus trees after the recent EPA approval of CarriCea T1, a new Huanglongbing (HLB)-resistant rootstock that could help growers combat citrus greening.

Since HLB was first detected in Florida in 2005, the disease has slashed the state’s citrus industry by 95%, reducing record-high production from 292 million boxes in the late 1990s to an estimated 10 million boxes of oranges for the 2026-2027 season.

The EPA approval marks a significant milestone in delivering research-driven solutions to growers who have spent years searching for effective ways to combat the disease.

“This approval marks a critical advancement for growers facing HLB,” says Yianni Lagos, President and CEO of Soilcea. “CarriCea T1 works with the plant’s own biology to naturally protect against HLB and provide a more promising path forward for American citrus production.”

CarriCea T1 was developed by Soilcea, a CRISPR-focused agricultural research company headquartered at the University of South Florida Connect research park in Tampa, using discoveries from Nian Wang, Ph.D.’s, laboratory at University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center.

The technology was exclusively licensed through UF Innovate, the university’s technology commercialization office and supported by funding from the National Science Foundation and USDA.

“This breakthrough exemplifies the world-class agricultural research and innovation taking place at UF/IFAS, our increasing focus on using biotech tools to accelerate solutions for growers, and our enhanced efforts to commercialize innovations,” adds J. Scott Angle, UF Senior VP for agriculture and natural resources and head of UF/IFAS.

The approval also represents nearly a decade of collaboration between university researchers, technology transfer professionals and entrepreneurs to move an academic discovery from the laboratory to the marketplace.

For more, continue reading at news.ufl.edu.