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Clewiston,
FL — September 21, 2009 — This week
Southern Gardens Citrus began its second set of research field trials -- planting
a group of citrus trees which have shown resistance to greening in the
laboratory. These trees were developed
in conjunction with Integrated Plant Genetics, a private research company
based in “This
field trial continues our efforts to develop a solution to the current
challenging citrus diseases of greening and canker,” said Ricke Kress,
president. Kress
said that this research project was initiated in 2007 and that the trees have
been planted in compliance with the issued field testing permit as received
from the United States Department of Agriculture Biotechnology Regulatory
Services. Consistent
with the previous planted field trials that are in place within the Southern
Gardens Citrus Hendry County groves, “We will continue to follow all issued
regulations related to the safety and integrity of the trial, including
strict access control”, said Rick Kress, president. Kress
said that Southern Gardens Citrus continues to be very proactive in working
with all facets of the citrus industry including UF/IFAS, USDA, FDACS, Texas
A&M AgriLife Research, Cornell University, and
independent researchers in an effort to combat and eliminate the HLB/greening
disease. Citrus
greening disease or Huanglongbing (HLB) is
considered to be the most serious disease of citrus trees in the world. HLB was first identified and confirmed in Southern
Gardens Citrus, one of the largest citrus producers in the state, has three
groves in southwest ### Photographs
courtesy of Southern Gardens Citrus
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