A Texas company, Applied Nanotech Holdings Inc. (OTCQB: APNT) of Austin, has been given a $400,000 contract by the California Citrus Research Board to come up with new technology that will focus on early detection of HLB disease and other pathogens in citrus trees.
HLB, the moniker for Huanglongbing disease or “citrus greening,” kills any citrus tree it infects. It’s spread by an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid. HLB has been detected in Los Angeles County.
The contract is a continuation of the development and refinement of “point of analysis agricultural pathogen” detection systems. This contract includes further development of Applied Nanotech’s EZKnowz pathogen detection systems for faster response and research to expand the instrument capability to other citrus pathogens..
The citrus industry of Florida has been significantly impacted by HLB. Early detection of the disease is essential since the disease spreads from tree to tree and significantly impacts fruit quality and ultimately tree death. Removal of infected trees is the most effective method to contain and eradicate the disease.
Greening disease and other pathogens cause more than $1 billion in lost revenue to citrus growers annually. Early detection and monitoring is expected to save billions of dollars as well as millions of trees while keeping fruit and juice prices from skyrocketing.
“The advancement of this technology fills a critical need for the continued production of citrus worldwide,” says Ken Keck, president of the Citrus Research Board.
Applied Nanotech will be partnering with the University of California, Davis.
“This system and technology will provide an important asset to the citrus industry’s early disease detection and monitoring needs in preventing the spread of industry-crippling diseases,” says Zvi Yaniv, president and chief operating officer of Applied Nanotech. “This contract extension is important to accelerating commercial development of our technology.”
Source: Central Valley Business Times