New Citrus Tool to Help Prevent Widespread Loss of Citrus Crops and Support America’s Food Supply
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved CarriCea T1, a breakthrough citrus rootstock that helps trees defend themselves against citrus greening disease, the bacterial infection that has destroyed more than 90 percent of Florida's citrus production over the past two decades. The approval gives American growers a powerful new tool that fights disease at the source while reducing the need for conventional pesticide sprays.
“A secure, abundant food supply keeps Americans healthy and fuels economic growth, which is why we're using gold-standard science to put safe, innovative tools in the hands of our farmers,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “CarriCea T1 helps protect American citrus, supports a nutritious food supply, and lets growers rely less on conventional pesticide applications. That’s a win for farmers and a win for American families.”
Florida's citrus industry, the center of America's orange juice supply, continues to face extraordinary pressure. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS) reported that final 2024–2025 production totaled 12.15 million boxes of oranges, 1.3 million boxes of grapefruit, and 400,000 boxes of tangerines and tangelos — the smallest Florida harvest on record since the 1919–1920 season. At the industry's 2003–2004 peak, Florida growers produced nearly 292 million boxes of citrus. Today's harvest is less than 5% of that total.
Without effective new tools, citrus greening threatens to end commercial citrus production in the United States, forcing Americans to depend on foreign growers, many of whom apply pesticides on weekly or more frequent schedules, for orange juice and fresh citrus, driving up grocery prices, and shuttering family farms.
CarriCea T1 works by making precise edits to the citrus tree's own existing genes — not by introducing DNA from other organisms. These edits disrupt the interaction between the citrus plant and the bacteria that cause greening, helping the tree limit infection on its own.
Because the tree itself is better equipped to resist the disease, growers using CarriCea T1 rootstock can rely less on conventional chemical sprays to manage citrus greening. Fewer sprays mean less pesticide applied to the orchard, less handled by farmworkers, and a safer path forward for American citrus.
EPA conducted a robust dietary safety assessment under its existing regulatory framework for plant-incorporated protectants to ensure that the registration decision is protective. This includes residues from both the pesticide being registered as well as any breakdown products. The fruit produced from CarriCea T1 rootstock will be indistinguishable from those using other rootstock varieties.
EPA recognizes that Americans care deeply about how their food is grown and want clear information about the tools used in agriculture. Consumers who prefer alternatives will continue to find a wide range of choices in the marketplace, including organic citrus.
This approval gives growers another tool to manage a serious crop disease while supporting efforts to reduce losses and maintain productive citrus acreage. EPA will continue to work with growers, researchers, and other stakeholders to ensure that crop protection tools are used responsibly and evaluated with attention to human health, environmental protection, and long-term farm sustainability.
Farmers need a range of approaches to manage pests and plant diseases, including integrated strategies that protect yields while reducing unnecessary conventional pesticide use. CarriCea T1 gives growers a new line of defense that works with the plant's own biology rather than relying on chemicals alone.
When a crop is modified for pesticidal purposes, the modification is called a plant-incorporated protectant, or PIP. Some PIPs introduce new genes from other organisms, but CarriCea T1 takes a different approach, editing existing citrus genes to strengthen the plant's own defenses. EPA evaluates every PIP against rigorous standards for human health, environmental protection, and long-term agricultural sustainability.
EPA will continue working with growers, researchers, and stakeholders to ensure crop protection tools are used responsibly and evaluated with full attention to safety and the long-term resilience of American farms.
The registration of CarriCea T1 will soon be made available in docket ID EPA-HQ-OPP-2025-0211 at www.regulations.gov.