Progress 09/30/24 to 09/29/25
Outputs
Target Audience:The HLB-Research & Extension Output Network (REON) is a collaborative project led by the University of Florida, Purdue University, UC Davis, and Texas A&M Kingsville. Its goal is to create a centralized hub (database) for USDA-funded research on Huanglongbing (HLB/citrus greening). REON collects and organizes scientific outputs, extension materials, and datasets, translating them into practical, grower-focused formats. By engaging growers, industry professionals, and policymakers in Florida, Texas, and California, the project seeks to ensure that HLB research findings are accessible, actionable, and aligned with stakeholder needs. The overall target audience includes citrus stakeholders across these states who require objective, evidence-based, and verifiable information to guide management and control strategies. This includes: Producers: growers, farmers, and nurseries. Researchers: universities, research institutions, extension agents, crop advisors, and consultants. Industry personnel: packinghouses, juice processors, and distributors. Governance and policymakers: government agencies, citrus boards, associations, and legislators. During this reporting year, REON activities have begun to directly engage these groups: Florida growers: Extension agents nominated candidates to join an advisory committee and participate in interviews on how they access, use, and prefer to receive HLB information. These interviews are being recorded, transcribed, and analyzed to identify strengths, gaps, and preferences. Three interviews have been completed, with four more scheduled. Texas growers: Texas A&M-Kingsville faculty nominated participants from this smaller producer group. Interviews are underway. One has been completed and another is scheduled. California growers: Identified by the Co-PI at the University of California, Davis, in collaboration with the Citrus Board. Interviews are scheduled to begin once the Florida and Texas phases are completed. Researchers: Engagement to date has focused on principal investigators and project collaborators. Once the database prototype is available, a broader group of researchers will be invited to provide feedback on quality, structure, usability, and governance. Extension agents: From the University of Florida and California, Extension agents contributed during the pilot testing phase. Their role as intermediaries between researchers and producers was essential, and they also helped identify grower candidates. Government agencies: NIFA, APHIS, and ARS have been contacted to provide access to funded research grant information, forming the foundation of the database. Their role at this stage has been primarily informational. Changes/Problems: USDA Grant Analysis - Challenges: Access to grant information: Initial data transfers to USDA Gateway only included NIFA grants. Partial information is now available for ARS grants, but coverage is incomplete and often limited to general descriptions or methods. No reports have been obtained from APHIS, despite its role in strategic initiatives such as MAC. A list of grants exists, but access to full reports, essential for extracting outputs, remains unresolved. Communication with USDA: Efforts to establish consistent communication have been unsuccessful despite a year of outreach. Many grants lack accessible reports, and the process for obtaining them is unclear. Available information is often outdated. Inconsistent reporting formats: Agencies differ in how they report and format grant information, complicating database development and comparative analyses. Reports vary widely by PI, making it difficult to quantify outputs, particularly for activities such as network establishment, training, extension, outreach, and capacity building. Difficulty consolidating outputs: Products are delivered according to agency-specific formats, which are not easily harmonized into one database structure. Direct contact with PIs is not a reliable alternative, as many are retired or unavailable. Unclear scope of remaining work: The total volume of information to be processed is unknown. This lack of clarity complicates resource planning and limits the ability to quantify progress. It also hinders future integration of REON with other HLB-related databases. These challenges have slowed progress in database development and highlight the need for improved access, standardized reporting, and stronger coordination with USDA to ensure comprehensive coverage of HLB research outputs. Website and Database challenges: As expected with an initiative of this scale, several challenges emerged that influenced development priorities and provided valuable lessons for improvement: Data coverage: Current datasets remain incomplete, emphasizing the need to integrate additional sources to strengthen insights and enable cross-program comparisons. Data integration: Combining information from diverse reporting formats and styles has been complex, requiring new parsing methods and consistency checks to ensure accuracy. Balancing detail and usability: Designing tools that meet the needs of both research specialists and broader audiences has been difficult. Iterative refinement is required to provide sufficient technical details while maintaining clarity and accessibility. These challenges highlight the importance of continued collaboration with users and stakeholders to ensure the system remains both technically rigorous and broadly accessible. Growers' Advisory Committee challenges: Recruitment and participation: A recruitment strategy was established and put into practice, but securing growers' sustained commitment to the advisory committee has remained a significant challenge. Response rates: The first round of nominations produced 28 growers, but few agreed to join the committee, requiring repeated follow-ups. Direct outreach and personalized encouragement improved individual responses but did not substantially raise overall participation. Challenges: Time constraints, scheduling conflicts, and additional approval requirements have delayed progress and added complexity. Although key preparatory steps are in place, recruitment remains a persistent challenge. Moving forward, continued coordination, persistent outreach, and more flexible strategies will be essential to ensure strong grower participation in the advisory committee. Practical Summaries challenges: Template development: The original template for practical summaries required modifications to ensure compatibility with other components of the database. Adjustments involved both formatting changes and new approaches to information processing. Protocol refinement: A consolidated protocol has been established and is functional, but it will need refinement once applied to larger volumes of data. Resource limitations: Progress is constrained by the high volume of information to be processed and the limited personnel available to carry out this task. Resource allocation was necessary to initiate the work, but capacity remains limited. Early stage of implementation: Work on practical summaries has only recently begun, so there is little progress to report. This area is considered vital for the database, as it will contain most of the information consulted by growers. The main challenge lies in scaling the process, both in terms of protocol refinement and resource capacity to ensure that practical summaries become a reliable, accessible tool for growers within the database. 5)Controlled dictionary challenges The main challenge is developing a clear, consistent protocol for all team members to contribute to the vocabulary. This effort is still in its early stages, with the current focus on establishing a solid foundation. Since implementation has only recently begun, no major issues have emerged. The priority for the coming year is to finalize a team-wide protocol, providing the basis for the controlled dictionary to become a reliable, standardized resource. Final remarks: Across all areas of the project, challenges have highlighted the complexity of building a comprehensive and functional system. Difficulties with data access and standardization, grower recruitment, resource limitations, and the need for clear protocols have shaped our priorities and approaches. While these barriers have slowed some progress, they also provided valuable lessons that are guiding refinements in process, coordination, and resource allocation. By addressing these challenges, the project is strengthening its foundation and ensuring that REON evolves into a robust, accessible, and grower-focused resource capable of supporting both scientific advancement and practical decision making. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Team Development: Alongside their existing expertise, REON team members are enhancing their skills in controlled vocabulary design and USDA reporting processes. Postdoctoral Researcher: Advancing proficiency in text mining through one-on-one training, while deepening knowledge of controlled vocabularies with AGROVOC's online programs. Graduate Students: Gaining hands-on experience in data analysis supported by regular team meetings and targeted training on USDA reporting standards. Staff, postdoctoral researcher and grad students: Building capacity in developing and refining practical summaries that translate scientific findings into accessible information for the public, reinforced through regular meetings and individualized training. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?There are no major activities to report at this stage, other than disseminating the project among researchers, growers, extension agents, and USDA representatives to help consolidate the advisory committees and obtain information from government databases. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? USDA Grant Analysis future directions: Continue gathering and processing information from USDA databases and other sources. Although this is an ongoing effort, the priority for this year is to organize historical data (2008-2025) so that future updates can be managed more efficiently at all levels: Grant level: Identify grants along with their summaries, outcomes, and impacts, and incorporate them into the database. Section level: Structure sections so they are easy to consult and clearly linked to their corresponding outputs or products. Content analysis will also highlight areas of intensive research and those with limited attention, helping guide future research priorities. Output level: Identify, process, and add outputs from each grant (or most of them) into the database. When possible, outputs will be quantified and translated into practical information for growers and the public. Website and Database future directions: Continue to strengthen the platform by expanding data coverage, improving the database structure, and refining the website through ongoing user feedback. Expanded data coverage Integrate multiple funding sources into individual grant records to provide a more complete picture of research progress. Identify and add new data sets to broaden the scope of information and improve comparability across projects. Database enhancements Develop a more robust structure capable of storing and linking additional data types, including collaborations, outcomes, and broader impacts. Improve metadata practices to support long-term analysis and ensure interoperability with related systems. Website iteration and testing Test the platform with additional data tiers and user groups, incorporating structured feedback to guide improvements. Refine search, filtering, and visualization features to better meet the needs of different audiences. Explore advanced visualization tools, such as networks, timelines, and funding maps to improve clarity and interpretation. By following these directions, the platform will continue evolving into a comprehensive and adaptable resource. It will not only enhance transparency and support evaluation at the funding level but also provide growers with practical tools to identify relevant research and connect with outcomes that directly support their operations. Growers' Advisory Committee future directions: For this component of the project, several activities are planned for the coming reporting year: Grower recruitment: Coordination with Co-PIs at participating universities will continue to identify and recruit growers. Invitations will be sent on an ongoing basis to encourage participation in the advisory committee and interviews. Interviews: We will maintain communication with growers through emails and calls and continue scheduling interviews throughout the year. Data preparation and analysis: Interview transcripts will be generated using software and then manually edited for accuracy. Codes will be developed manually, and summaries will be prepared for each interview. Summaries will be returned to growers for member checking to confirm accuracy and interpretation. Manuscript development: Preparation of manuscripts will advance in parallel with the completion of interviews and data analysis. Practical Summaries future directions: Practical summaries will be developed from both: grant outputs and scientific literature databases and integrated into the project's database. Each summary will be linked to the corresponding grant, including information on authors, study locations, and other relevant details, to ensure accessibility for the public. Summaries will be organized not only by area of expertise but also by topics identified by growers as priorities for managing HLB and/or its vector. These efforts will make research findings more accessible, translating technical results into practical knowledge that growers and stakeholders can use in day-to-day decision making. Controlled Dictionary future direction: A comprehensive list of terms and definitions related to HLB, along with their conceptual network and categorization ("REON-VOC"), will be developed and prepared for submission to the FAO AGROVOC team, pending approval. This activity will be a major focus during the upcoming year, with the goal of positioning REON as a hub for accurate and accessible terminology related to this disease. By advancing this work, the project will contribute to greater consistency in language across research, extension, and policy, ensuring that stakeholders have a shared vocabulary to support collaboration and effective communication.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: The primary goal of this project is to create web-based resources and a comprehensive database that give stakeholders clear, direct access to USDA-funded research on HLB. By consolidating outputs from all USDA projects addressing the disease, these tools will serve as a reliable reference for the citrus industry. This year, our work has focused on three core areas: USDA grant analysis Database and website development Advisory committees In addition, we have established guidelines to advance two emerging areas: Practical summaries Controlled vocabulary USDA Grant Analysis Updates: We have retrieved grant information from the USDA CRIS/Gateway database, USAspending.gov, and multi-agency initiative webpages such as the Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension (ECDRE) program and the HLB Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) program. Each grant and its corresponding reports are analyzed at three levels: Grant level: treating the entire grant as a single unit. Section level: dividing reports into core sections (objectives, methods, outputs, impacts, publications). Output level: identifying specific deliverables such as publications, datasets, or extension products. Once collected, we apply two processes to each grant: Identification and categorization: Outputs/products are classified, organized, and prepared for inclusion in the database, ensuring they are easily accessible to the public. Content analysis of grant reports: Technical information is distilled into clear, actionable insights that highlight key accomplishments, effective practices, existing gaps, and potential directions for future HLB research. At present, analyses are underway with a focus on ECDRE and NIFA-funded grants. To date, we have collected information from more than 680 grants, of which fewer than 118 have been fully processed. The total number of grants still to be addressed remains difficult to determine, as data continues to be gathered from multiple USDA agencies. This ongoing work not only supports the development of the database but also lays the groundwork for designing extension materials that will translate research findings into practical resources for growers and stakeholders. Website and Database Updates: In parallel, we have worked on strengthening the infrastructure for the project website and database to ensure that curated information is both accessible and user-friendly. Several key advances were made this year: Database development: We collected and consolidated NIFA and ARS grant data into a centralized repository and organized it into key categories such as project identifiers, publications, and participants. Narrative progress reports were parsed into structured, easy-to-read formats and visualized through timelines to track project activities over time. Data were reviewed, refined, and standardized to ensure accuracy and consistency for downstream analysis. These improvements provide a stronger foundation for structured searches and tailored comparisons across grants. Website development: We implemented role-based authentication (public, user, administrator) to provide appropriate levels of access. The platform now enables searchable grant reports by name, funding source, organization, and project status. Individual grant pages were created that present both raw source data and interpreted summaries, while award summary views offer multiple filtering options to generate customized comparisons. Branding elements and a scalable design strategy have also been incorporated to ensure the site remains adaptable as content and user needs to expand. Together, these efforts demonstrate meaningful progress toward creating a robust, web-based platform that consolidates federally funded HLB research, improves accessibility, and supports data-driven insights for stakeholders across the citrus industry. Grower's advisory committee updates: As part of our evaluation efforts, we have worked to select members of a robust Growers Advisory Committee. The idea behind this committee is to bring together growers from different states who can guide the development of decision-support tools, the database, and other components of the project. To ensure broad and balanced representation, we developed inclusion and exclusion criteria for participation. The criteriainclude: Producers from Florida, California, and Texas. (HLB affected states) An understanding of citrus production in theirregions. Active engagement in meetings and workshops. Diversity of roles (e.g., growers, managers, packers). Willingness to collaborate and support the project over the long term. Following these guidelines, we have sought nominations from Co-PIs, Extension agents, researchers, and citrus growers' associations. In Florida, we reached out to county Extension agents, Co-PIs, and researchers working in citrus to receive 28 nominations. We followed up with email invitations, distributed printed invitations at the Florida Citrus Expo (Tampa, August 19-20, 2025), and used phone calls to encourage participation. As a result of the first round of invitations, four growers committed to joining the advisory committee. In California, we reached out toCo-PIs, county Extension agents, and the citrus board for nominations. Our Co-PI in California is working directly with the board to secure nominations. Recruitment in Texas is completed, and interviews are currently underway with the support and guidance of the Co-PI at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Qualitative Needs Assessment An essential part of the project's needs assessment is identifying knowledge gaps through citrus growerinterviews. Webegan this work in Florida and Texas and willextend it to California. We also developed a brief demographic survey and updated consent forms, through the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Recruitment is ongoing, and we are conducting interviews using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Simultaneously, we are transcribing interviews, coding responses, drafting summaries, and engaging participants in member-checking to validate our findings. Practical summaries updates: From processed grants, we are compiling a list of scientific publications and developing practical summaries for each. These structured, concise syntheses highlightrelevance, key findings, and implications, making research more accessible to non-specialist audiences. Standardization ensures consistency and quality across all summaries, which will be integrated into the database alongside the original papers and research teams. This will allow stakeholders to quickly locate both source material and clear explanations of findings within specific research areas. Theprotocol has been refined, and systematic processing will begin shortly. Additionally, summaries are being categorized by thematic areas to enhance navigation and ensure information is readily accessible to growers, industry professionals, and other stakeholders. Controlled dictionary update: A structured glossary of HLB-related terms is being developed to give common terminology amonggrowers, researchers, and industry professionals. Modeled after FAO's AGROVOC system, this effortaims to standardize definitions and relationships among concepts, improve clarity, communication, and data organization across the database. Progress has been limitedas efforts have been concentrated on other priority areas of the project.?? Objective 2: The second objective is to produce high-quality extension products, assess their impact, and identify outreach gaps. T For now, there are no major activities to report beyond the preparation of documents used to share the initiative with growers, industry representatives, extension agents, and other researchers.
Publications
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Progress 09/30/23 to 09/29/24
Outputs
Target Audience: Citrus growers: We are developing a database to provide citrus growers with comprehensive information about the devastating disease Huanglongbing (HLB). To ensure the database meets growers' needs and expectations, an advisory committee is being formed with guidance and support from extension agents, particularly in Florida, where the disease has caused significant damage. Guided interviews with growers will be conducted in Florida, Texas and California. To this end, preliminary conversations and pilot tests with growers and extension agents have already been completed to refine the interview protocol and prepare for its systematic implementation within the grower community. These interviews will initially involve advisory committee members, and based on findings, a broader audience of growers will be engaged. Florida will be the first state to participate in this process, followed by California and Texas. Scientific community: The scientific community involved in citrus research also plays a crucial role in this initiative. In addition to HLB-specific scientists, we have begun consulting them about their research outcomes as needed. We have also engaged 4 data scientists from other universities, agencies, database experts, and USDA representatives to contribute to the design and structure of the database, ensuring it meets the needs of both, researchers and industry professionals. Changes/Problems:Running a project, especially one that involves multiple states, universities, agencies, faculty, students, and other stakeholders, present several challenges. The major ones include: Scattered and inconsistent information: The data available from USDA sources is often fragmented, outdated, and inconsistent, with significant gaps and redundancies. Extracting meaningful information from USDA reports can be particularly challenging, as many research outcomes are not reported uniformly across different initiatives and agencies. This inconsistency limits our ability to systematize and analyze data effectively. Translating research outputs: A substantial portion of research outputs consists of conference presentations, posters, extension materials, and capacity building initiatives. However, it is difficult to establish parameters to translate this information into actionable insights for growers. Diverse research record structures: Each USDA agency has its own structure for research records, resulting in a lack of uniformity in data collection. This variability reduces the likelihood of establishing consistent parameters that meet database requirements. Misinformation: For example, there is confusion regarding non peer review publications. Some are labeled as "in process" and remain unpublished, leading to potential misinformation about available research outputs. Collaboration challenges: The collaborative nature of this project can lead to delays, as activities may take longer than initially planned. Coordinating meetings and common activities can also be difficult due to the busy schedule of project participants. Administrative delays: Administrative procedures can be time-consuming, particularly when approvals involve multiple institutions and agencies, resulting in longer wait times than expected. Despite these and other minor challenges, the REON team is confident that the web-based tools currently being developed will greatly enhance communication channels. These tools will play a pivotal role in mitigating the effects of HLB across the major citrus-growing regions of the USA. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Below is a list of additional courses, training sessions, and professional opportunities: The team: In addition to the exceptional skills of all project participants, the REON team is enhancing their expertise in creating a controlled vocabulary with the support of FAO through the AGROVOC team (for more information, please, visit agrovoc.fao.org). The postdoctoral researcher is gaining valuable experience in: Text mining and cluster analyzes, engaging online courses and one-on-one guidance using R. Program management via online course. Controlled vocabularies: joined an online training program offered by AGROVOC Graduate students are also acquiring experience in data analysis, particularly text mining, through one-on-one meetings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project is still in its early stages: therefore, there are not activities to report yet regarding the sharing of results with the target audience or a broader public. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The actions reported here correspond to each part of the project addressed thus far: HLB-research outputs: We will continue our review of USDA-funded HLB initiatives to extract as many relevant research outcomes as possible. To strength this effort, we will engage with USDA awardees to discuss not only their successes but also the lessons learned from less successful initiatives. While accessing this information can be challenging, it is essential for improving the overall HLB research process. Once the information is systematized, we can streamline the development of strategies to effectively present the findings. Practical summaries would be particularly useful in this regard. Moreover, the diverse analyses (ongoing and planned) will allow us to better meet stakeholder expectations. Webpage/database: The immediate goal is to make the website fully operational. Long-term, we will continue feeding the database with relevant information while adjusting its structure to better meet user needs. The key challenge remains making the data both, interactive and easy to use. HLB-REON Controlled vocabulary (REON-VOC): The immediate objective is to consolidate REONVOC and integrate it into the REON database. As more information is included, REONVOC will become an accessible point of reference for HLB terminology and concepts. Advisory growers committee: With the guidance of the committee, we will schedule new activities targeted at a broader audience to continue gathering information on HLB management practices. Feedback form growers is central to this initiative, and their ongoing input will remain crucial to its success. Extension products: By the next reporting period, we expect to have the web-based tools fully consolidated, allowing us to shift focus on the project's second goal: developing extension products. We will engage with HLB stakeholders to share REON outputs and gather feedback on the tools' implementations, while ensuring that the information is delivered in the most engaging and accessible way possible.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The first goal of this project is to develop web-based resources and a comprehensive database to provide stakeholders with critical information about research findings on HLB from USDA agencies. These tools aim to offer a consolidated view of all USDA projects addressing HLB, becoming a reliable source of information for stakeholders in the citrus industry. The second objective is to develop high-quality extension products, assess their effectiveness, and continuously monitor extension gaps. Since we are still in the initial phase, this update will focus on the progress made toward the first objective: the development of the HLB-REON webpage and database. Our initial efforts have concentrated on four key areas: HLB-research outputs: Our main goal is to extract and present HLB-research outcomes in a format accessible to growers and other stakeholders. To this end, data has been collected from multiple platforms, including the former "Current Research Information (CRIS)" and the new "Data Gateway System", and other sources such as the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and USAspending. We have also incorporated information from collaborative efforts like the Emergency Citrus Research and Extension Program (ECDRE), the Multiagency Coordination (MAC) group, and specific projects such as the "Citrus Research and Field Trials" (CRaFT). This information, which is mainly HLB-related grants, is being systematically organized for inclusion in the REON database. While particular emphasis is placed on research outcomes, general information about research projects is also being cataloged and analyzed. To date, we have curated and listed approximately 665 HLB-related grants supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Agricultural Research service (ARS), and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection service (APHIS). Data from other agencies will be incorporated as we continue to process this initial set. Text mining techniques, including frequency and cluster analysis, have been employed to analyze data collected to summarize trends, identify potential gaps, and provide guidelines for future decision-making. However, the information is heterogeneous and dispersed, complicating deeper analysis of gaps and differences. Consequently, only slight variations in the focus of grants supported by each agency have been identified. Webpage/database IT updates: In the initial phase of the project, research was conducted to identify data sources that could be extracted from existing project information. To facilitate this, an automated script was developed to collect data from ECDRE and CDRE projects from online sources. The script consolidated data such as project titles, identifiers, dates, funding amounts, investigators, approaches, impacts, and publications. Although this data set is preliminary, it provided valuable insights into project data availability. Project data has been reviewed to determine suitable database structures for implementation. This included identifying methods to represent data sources, information types, redundancies, and publications. Additionally, the development of an automated script is underway to streamline the import of project data and create associated database entities from shared spreadsheets. The resulting data structures will support customized searches within the website. The web content strategy has been evaluated to ensure alignment with the project's goals. Key considerations included segmenting content to meet the needs of different audience groups, ensuring each group receives relevant information. We have also explored branding elements to maintain a cohesive visual identity across the platform. Scalability was a priority in the initial design of the web interfaces, ensuring the platform can accommodate future growth and adapt to evolving content needs and audience demands. HLB-REON Controlled vocabulary (REON-VOC): A key component of the database is a controlled vocabulary that includes definitions of terms and procedures related to HLB, which are currently used inconsistently by growers, scientists, and other stakeholders. The goal of this initiative is to promote uniformity in the terminology, concepts and tools associated with HLB, ensuring that similar content or definitions are assigned consistent terms. This will create a standardized framework within the HLB domain, making information retrieval and cataloguing more efficient. To develop this controlled vocabulary, the REON project has adopted the guidelines set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). AGROVOC, FAO's controlled vocabulary, is a globally recognized, multilingual open-source database that encompasses concepts, terms and definitions relevant to agricultural research. Following the AGROVOC approach, participants in this project, particularly faculty, are working together to 1. identify conflicting terms and concepts, 2. draft or revise definitions, 3. build logical relationships between these concepts, and 4. share this information with their peers to achieve consensus. These efforts aim to enrich the database and ultimately establish REON-VOC as a key reference for HLB-related terminology. Advisory growers committee: This committee aims to provide timely feedback to the REON team, ensuring guidance throughout the project's duration. The first major task involved updating the interview guide originally submitted with the project proposal, which included the IRB's approval. This guide, designed to identify knowledge gaps in research and information, has undergone several revisions and is now ready to be administered to the grower's committee, with plans to extend its use across the broader citrus production community. To address the limited demographic information on key actors and enablers in the citrus industry, a brief online survey has been developed using QualtricsXM. This survey will be implemented alongside the interviews to collect demographic data and provide deeper insights into the industry's stakeholders. To validate these materials, pilot sessions were conducted via zoom, providing valuable feedback, leading to further refinements on the methodology. To broaden the feedback scope, extension professionals from California were invited to review the survey instrument and offer their insights. The recruitment phase for study participants (committee members) is ongoing, and a cycle of interviews will begin shortly. There is a list of key outcomes and accomplishments from the initial phase of the project: Compiled and analyzed information: gathered and synthesized data on HLB USDA-funded initiatives, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of research outputs. Navigated USDA structures: gained an understanding of USDA organizational frameworks and reporting mechanisms. Established controlled vocabulary: to standardize vocabulary for HLB terminology and concepts aiming to improve communication among HLB stakeholders. Consolidated research networks: successfully reunited a diverse group of first-level researchers and universities, fostering collaboration and innovation within the HLB research community. Started the designing of the REON website/database: tailored to the needs and expectations of stakeholders, facilitating access to relevant information. Started creating a citrus growers committee: started characterizing the population, selecting the members with the guidance of extension agents in Florida, Texas and California. Crafted questionnaires: for guided interviews with committee members, aiming to gather valuable insights and perspectives. Conducted pilot tests for protocol enhancement: to refine data collection activities, with the aim of reaching a broader audience. Analyzed data: collected from USDA initiatives and stakeholder's feedback.
Publications
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