Southwest Florida Research & Education Center

Citrus Pathology

CITRUS PATHOLOGY

Developing effective, long lasting, and integrated control strategies for pathogens causing economic harm to citrus.

Citrus Pathology Lab

Our lab is led by Principal Investigator, Dr. Ozgur Batuman, at the University of Florida Institute for Agricultural Sciences (UF-IFAS) Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC) in Immokalee, Florida. We are focused on biological research, extension, and citrus diagnostics. Our projects and accomplishments are showcased throughout this website. Any questions and communications will be directed to our lab manager and Dr. Batuman.

Ozgur Batuman

Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Citrus Pathology

obatuman@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3408
Fax:(239) 658-3403

Automated Delivery System for Citrus Therapeutics

Transgene-Free Citrus Using CRISPR Cas9

Citrus disease trends we should heed: Phytophthora, HLB and Leprosis virus

Dr. Ozgur Batuman, UF-IFAS. In this talk, I will remind our growers to continue paying attention to other pathogens that can attack already HLB-weakened trees. Phytophthora or leprosis each can substantially reduce productivity of a citrus tree but when they are co-infecting, it can be fatal. Also, some control measures may not be effective anymore due to HLB-induced complications.

Publication

Development of an IPM Strategy for Thrips and Tomato spotted wilt virus in Processing Tomatoes in the Central Valley of California

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV; species Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus; genus Orthotospovirus; family Tospoviridae) is a thrips-transmitted virus that can cause substantial economic losses to many crops, including tomato (Solanum lycopersicum).

Since 2005, TSWV emerged as an economically important virus of processing tomatoes in the Central Valley of California, in part due to increased populations of the primary thrips vector, western flower thrips (WFT; Frankliniella occidentalis). To develop an understanding of the epidemiology of TSWV in this region, .....

The latest from the lab of Dr. Ozgur Batuman

UF/IFAS faculty appointed to national committee

Two University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers have been appointed to a prestigious National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine committee to provide guidance on a serious disease plaguing...
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UF/IFAS scientists find viruses that might help control insect that causes citrus greening

IMMOKALEE, Fla. --- University of Florida scientists are working toward establishing a new biological method that may help farmers control the insect that transmits the deadly greening disease into citrus trees. Greening is present in about 95...
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Automated System Would Deliver Chemicals to Help Ward off Citrus Greening

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Imagine using a robotic arm to grip and puncture the trunk of a citrus tree to deliver chemicals into the vascular parts of the plant, reducing its susceptibility to the citrus greening disease. Ozgur Batuman, an assistant...
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