T3BioScience (T3), the US-based startup built on a novel and powerful natural metabolite produced by Pseudomonas species, received a Special Temporary Registration in October 2026 to begin field trials of its RejuAgro™ microbial biocontrol against citrus greening in Brazil. Also known as Huanglongbing (HLB), citrus greening is widely considered the world’s most devastating and important plant pathogen facing citrus growers.
T3 has contracted a leading contract research organization to conduct the trials at four sites across Brazil’s most important citrus-producing regions: São Paulo, northern Paraná, and Minas Gerais. Trials began in October and continue through harvest in the second half of 2027.
Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter of orange juice, and HLB is a leading threat to its groves. Arising from the phloem-limited bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) and related species, HLB is vectored by the Asian citrus psyllid, resulting in premature fruit drop and yield decline. Fundecitrus, Brazil’s primary citrus industry research body, reported in its 2026 survey that HLB affected an estimated 48% of orange trees in the São Paulo and Triângulo/Sudoeste Mineiro citrus belt.
RejuAgro™ is based on a novel natural compound from a soil-derived Pseudomonas species. It combines direct antimicrobial activity, activation of the plant’s natural defenses, and mitigation of CLas-induced oxidative stress. RejuAgro™ has demonstrated broad-spectrum activity against bacterial, fungal, and oomycete plant pathogens.
“Our Florida-based HLB trials have shown strong results, and these new trials will help T3 confirm how RejuAgro’s results hold up under Brazilian citrus conditions and disease pressure,” said the product discoverer Dr. Ching-Hong Yang, Distinguished Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and CSO of T3BioScience. “For a country that has already established a leadership position in the use of biologicals in agriculture, finding an effective biological option to help growers manage HLB is a top priority.”
In multi-year Florida citrus field trials, foliar applications of RejuAgro™ reduced HLB severity by between 51.6% to 70.6% at ultra-low rates. In trunk-injection trials conducted by the University of Florida, trials conducted alongside the industry standard reduced levels of CLas, lowering fruit drop and maintaining yield.
RejuAgro™ is the first product from T3’s proprietary PROMISA discovery platform. All EPA-required environmental toxicity tests are complete, and T3 expects to submit RejuAgro™ to the EPA in late 2026. A US patent was granted in 2023, and Taiwan issued T3’s first patent outside the United States earlier this year. Beyond citrus, T3’s first target crops and diseases include apples, walnuts, grapes, and strawberries.
T3 is also preparing to launch RejuPrime™, a biostimulant developed through PROMISA, in the US and Brazil as early as 2027. RejuPrime™ is designed to support plant growth and yield under abiotic stress such as drought and salinity.
About T3
T3BioScience, Inc. (T3) is a U.S.-based biotechnology company at the vanguard of agricultural innovation. Our mission is to transform crop protection by reducing the need for conventional chemicals and antibiotics with novel, nature-derived solutions that match the efficacy of traditional inputs without their environmental or human health costs. By leveraging a never-before-discovered natural metabolite, T3 provides a sustainable path to preserving global resources while significantly improving farmer economics and yield.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261112593494/en/
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