17-year-old builds curry leaf treatment and AI tool to fight citrus greening

The research was started by Aglave as a freshman and took over 300 hours to complete, often working two hours in the laboratory every other day after school. For Tanishka Aglave, citrus greening isn’t simply a problem that exists in textbooks or agricultural research papers. She watched it take a toll on Florida citrus growers, including her own family, growing up. The disease has destroyed groves across the state, making what used to be a hallmark of Florida agriculture a hard fight for farmers. Aglave was 17 when she set out to attack that fight on multiple fronts at once. The IB senior at Strawberry Crest High School has come up with a three-pronged approach, which includes a treatment using curry leaves, a localized system for steam therapy, and an artificial intelligence tool to help growers track the disease, states an online report by the Davidson Institute website. Her work has earned her a $50,000 scholarship as a 2026 Davidson Fellow.A personal problem turns into a research projectCitrus greening, also known as Huanglongbing, is the most devastating disease of citrus worldwide. In Florida, it’s led to a dramatic decline in citrus production, straining the economy for grow...