ATIS: Automated Trunk Injection System to Treat Huanglongbing-affected Citrus Trees
Posted August 2025
Researchers: Ozgur Batuman, Yiannis Ampatzidis, Ute Albrecht, Fernando Alferez, Tara Wade
Contact: Ozgur Batuman, UF/IFAS SWFREC obatuman@ufl.edu
Summary:
Current devices for introducing liquid materials such as oxytetracycline (OTC) into citrus trunks are drill-based, relatively large-sized, single injectors, and laborious, which sometimes cause phytotoxicity. We developed an automated trunk injection system (ATIS) consisting of needle-based multiple injectors to reduce injury and effectively deliver therapeutics to citrus vascular tissues through the trunk to improve plant health and performance. The prototype of ATIS developed at UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee effectively grips and penetrates the trunk of mature citrus trees from both sides and injects label-recommended 100 ml of OTC in 30 seconds and up to 250 ml in a minute. The current ATIS does not cause noticeable damage, but longer-term effects must be determined. We are now injecting OTC with ATIS and manual injection devices (grower standards) in a commercial citrus grove to document its effectiveness in faster and better distribution of OTC throughout the canopy and economic feasibility for large-scale production. ATIS with two-sided injections into the trunk is expected to reduce OTC’s heat- and UV-associated field degradation, increasing its effectiveness with faster and better distribution in the tree. ATIS could be further modified and improved with AI-enhanced technologies to make it autonomous and reduce or eliminate extensive shear and tear due to its repetitive use on mature trunks to treat hundreds of trees much faster. Later, we will showcase the ATIS in several growers’ groves who are interested in trying it throughout Florida’s main citrus production regions.
Take Home Message:
- ATIS can inject OTC rapidly and effectively from both sides of the tree trunk for better OTC distribution.
- ATIS may help overcome OTC-injection challenges, including poor uptake and distribution, degradation, and labor costs.
- ATIS’s long-term tree injury, economic feasibility, and scalability are yet to be determined.
