WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday that $30 million is being rolled out in research grants to respond to citrus greening, which continues to threaten the $9 billion citrus industry in Florida.

Huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening disease because fruit tends to turn green after ripening, poses the most serious threat that the Florida citrus industry.Signs of citrus greening on an orange tree.

Vilsack announced two parallel research efforts, some of which are financed by the latest farm bill. “I think we’ve got the right structure and setup,” Vilsack told reporters during a morning teleconference.

USDA is funding projects that match up with the four top priorities identified by its HLB Multi-Agency Coordination Group: early detection, sustainability, infected tree treatment and vector management. The HLB MAC Group, created to manage policy decisions and set research priorities, is made up of representatives from USDA agencies, state agriculture departments and industry groups.

"Our HLB Multi-Agency Coordination Group has worked closely with the citrus industry to select and fund projects that we think will make a real difference for growers against HLB," Vilsack said Monday. "Funding these projects through cooperative agreements puts us one step closer to putting real tools to fight this disease into the hands of citrus growers."

During Monday’s announcement, Vilsack said the combination of funding projects would yield short-term and long-term solutions for growers.

First, USDA is allocating $7 million for 15 projects that are designed to offer near-term tools. These projects support thermotherapy, best management practices, early detection and pest control efforts.

For example, researchers will explore lowering the pH of the irrigation water and soil to strengthen root systems, experiment with different integrated management approaches and test strategies for preventing tree death due to HLB infection.

One project involves training dogs to detect HLB-infected trees, as dogs have proven useful in detecting citrus canker. Other projects focus on eliminating the Asian citrus psyllid, the vector of HLB.

On a separate track, USDA is directing $23 million of farm bill funds to universities in multiple states to focus on developing resistant cultivars; better earlier identification techniques; using heat, a treatment for prolonging productivity in infected trees; and creating a new antimicrobial treatment.

“Through the [Citrus Disease Research & Education] research we are announcing today, we are also investing in long-term solutions to diseases that threaten the long-term survival of the citrus industry,” he said.

Vilsack said USDA is concerned infected orchards are being abandoned and is working to remove the diseased trees and replace them with healthy ones.

He also credited his administration with “elevating” the need for research funding to Congress. When asked when USDA will not have to ask for funding to combat citrus greening, Vilsack said he hopes “the sooner, the better.”