Building alliances to protect Europe’s crops: CITRUSBUSTERS, POMATO, and EmergeNOW
In the fight against emerging plant pests and diseases, no initiative can thrive alone. Under the Horizon Europe programme, several initiatives are joining forces to develop cutting-edge solutions that protect Europe’s crops, food security, and biodiversity. Among them, CITRUSBUSTERS, POMATO, and EmergeNOW share the same objectives while tackling different aspects of the plant health challenge.
How the EU protects plant health
Protecting plant health is central to Europe’s environmental and economic priorities, since Europe’s agriculture faces growing threats from invasive pests, climate change, and global trade. Particularly, citrus production is threatened by Citrus Black Spot and Citrus Greening, two pests that CITRUSBUSTERS aims to fight. Our project aligns with the robust regulatory
Insights from Biopesticides Europe 2025
On June 4–5, 2025, the Biopesticides Europe 2025 congress in Madrid brought together leaders in sustainable pest control, from agriculture and research to policy and industry. Key topics included scaling up biopesticides for commercial use, their integration with precision agriculture, and regulatory frameworks.
CITRUSBUSTERS joins IFU annual conference
On June 12, 2025, CITRUSBUSTERS was presented at the prestigious IFU Juice Conference in São Paulo, Brazil. Held over three days (June 11–13), this global industry gathering attracted approximately 280 professionals, including distributors, suppliers, executives, and researchers from across the juices sector.
Citrus pests: a raising concern in Europe
In this article we uncover why citrus production matters for European economy, communities, and ecosystems
What is CITRUSBUSTERS? Your needs, our objectives
Europe’s citrus sector is facing an unusual storm: devastating diseases like Citrus Black Spot (CBS) and Citrus Greening (Huanglongbing, HLB), and an urgent need to move away from chemical pesticides. These challenges threaten not only production and biodiversity, but also farmers’ livelihoods and the stability of rural economies.
Meet the powerhouse behind citrus pests fight: Our consortium
Behind every ambitious scientific mission, there is an interdisciplinary team of experts, ready to make data and soil communicate together. CITRUSBUSTERS’ team includes partners across Europe and Brazil. We combine research, growers, biotech
CITRUSBUSTERS Project kicks off: get to know us
On May 15 – 16 2025, the CITRUSBUSTERS consortium gathered for the first time at the facilities of AINIA, the project coordinator, in Valencia, Spain. This in-person meeting gave partners the chance to get to know each other, explore the research infrastructure that will support project activities, and jointly dive into the project’s ambitious goals. Beyond presentations and planning sessions, visiting the AINIA labs allowed the team to better understand the practical challenges ahead and how each organisation will contribute to the shared mis