Newly Approved CarriCea T1 Rootstock Ignites Hope Among Citrus Growers
by RYAN MILEJCZAK
Over the past two decades, citrus greening has reduced the Florida citrus industry to a mere shadow of what it once was. While scientists work to find a solution, the industry just scored a major win with the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent approval of Soilcea’s CarriCea T1 rootstock that helps trees defend themselves against greening.
This disease is caused by a bacteria in the genus Liberibacter, which is spread from tree to tree by the Asian citrus psyllid. The disease was first confirmed in Florida in 2005 and has since slashed orange production from 242 million boxes in the 2003-2004 season to 12.2 million in 2024-2025.
“This is the first breakthrough that’s going to give growers the chance to grow in a heavy HLB environment,” explains Yianni Lagos, President and CEO at Soilcea.
The rootstock has been 10 years in the making at Soilcea, whose name is a portmanteau of soil and panacea. The new rootstock is based on the Carrizo rootstock (another portmanteau, this time of Carrizo and panacea). It was developed using CRISPR gene editing technology, editing the plant’s existing genome instead of using transgenetics.
“We basically turned off the interaction between the bacteria that causes greening and the plant, so the tree can restore its immune system,” Lagos explains. “It’s not perfectly immune, but it does create around a 10,000-time reduction in bacterial load.”
Kyle Story, a fourth-generation citrus grower in Polk County, explains it simply.
“The tree is positive for citrus greening, it is infected, but this rootstock acts as a filter to help keep the tree healthy and producing quality fruit,” he says.
With extensive field trials done to show the effectiveness of this new rootstock, the final step was to get EPA approval. To do so, they had to prove it was effective and safe for humans and the environment.
“It was a process, but a good one,” recounts Lagos. “We had a lot of help, with support from Congressman Franklin and the Legislature, Florida Citrus Mutual, plus over 50 growers who wrote letters of support.”
After two years, the rootstock received EPA approval, with no opposition and zero negative comments, paving the way for growers across Florida to start putting plants in the ground.
“There is now a tree approved in Florida for the first time that growers can actually plant confidently. This has never happened in 20 years,” Lagos says.
The approval has sparked hope — albeit fragile — among citrus growers throughout the state.
“This is one of the best developments we’ve seen for the industry, and we’re very thankful to Soilcea,” says Christian Spinosa, a fifth-generation cattle and citrus producer. “Everybody is feeling cautiously optimistic.”
Story echoes this sentiment.
“I’ve been following Soilcea’s work for a number of years, and it’s really exciting to see everything coming together,” he says. “These are really exciting times in citrus.”
Many growers, including Story, have already placed orders for new rootstocks.
“We’re really excited about being able to put these trees in the ground and within five years see the fruits of all that labor,” he says.
The new rootstock represents a major first step for revitalizing our citrus industry.
“This is more than just moving the needle for the citrus industry,” explains Lagos. “It’s the first step to bringing the industry back.”
But this is still only the first step, and there are still challenges ahead.
“The first, and most important challenge, will be dissemination and education,” explains Edwin Gutierrez, a Citrus Agent with UF/IFAS. “We need to help people understand what this technology is.”
And as is so often the case in agriculture, there’s going to be a lot of waiting involved.
“The biggest challenge will just be time,” says Spinosa. “Citrus is not something we can plant and have a crop in six months. It takes years, and all the while we have to keep our industry where it’s at now. That’s going to be the biggest hurdle.”
Despite these challenges, the industry is feeling optimistic about the future.
“Anything new will present challenges, and we know that,” says Story. “But I’m really excited about this rootstock and the tremendous advantage it gives us in the fight against greening.”
“One thing that growers are good at is resilience,” Spinosa adds. “I know we’ll be able to figure out how to make this work. So let’s get those trees in the ground and see what we can make them do.”