Pests Know No Borders. Neither Should Research. POMATO and CITRUSBUSTERS create synergies
Somewhere in a citrus grove in southern Europe, a tiny psyllid is carrying a pathogen that has already devastated orchards across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. A few hundred kilometres away, a bacterial disease is silently spreading through potato fields, threatening harvests and livelihoods. These are not isolated threats. They are symptoms of a global challenge, and they demand a global response.
From launch to action: what CITRUSBUSTERS achieved in its first semester
Since the project’s launch in May 2025, the CITRUSBUSTERS consortium has actively advanced its scientific, technical, and engagement activities to establish a strong basis for the next phases of work. During this initial period, partners focused on setting up laboratory and greenhouse workflows, coordinating field-related activities with Brazilian collaborators, and initiating preparatory studies across the project’s research areas.
From Lab to Land: building safer and more resilient crop protection systems together
On 30 September 2025, the AGRO4AGRI project hosted the webinar “From Lab to Land: A Focus on Safer, Sustainable Solutions for Crop Protection and Nutrition”, bringing together more than 55 participants from across Europe’s research, policy, and agri-food communities. For CITRUSBUSTERS, the webinar was a valuable opportunity to engage with sister Horizon Europe projects and stakeholders around a shared challenge: how to move sustainable crop protection solutions from research to real-world adoption
Together for plant health: meet CITRUSBUSTERS’ sister initiatives
Protecting European agriculture from pests, diseases, soil degradation and climate pressure requires more than one project. It takes a coordinated ecosystem of innovation. Alongside CITRUSBUSTERS, several Horizon Europe projects are advancing sustainable plant protection, biocontrol, and circular agricultural practices.
CITRUSBUSTERS at ICBC 2025: sharing innovation for a healthier citrus future
CITRUSBUSTERS was presented at the International Citrus and Beverage Conference (ICBC) highlighting its mission to combat citrus pests through innovation and collaboration. Together with IFU, the project aims to bridge research and practice for a more resilient citrus sector worldwide.