National Institute of Food and Agriculture · Department of Agriculture
Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension Pre-Applications
Key facts
- Deadline
- Due Nov 2, 2026 · 26 days left
- Award size
- $500K – $15M
- Total available
- $46.2M · about 21 awards
- Match ?
- Not required · Work out your budget and match
- Who can apply
- Set by the official notice: see Who can apply below
- Where
- Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee
How this fits you
- Available in Gibson County (nationwide program)
- No match required
- Past Tennessee awards on file: 7
Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.
Official notice: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/da11c5e7-19b0-44f3-97d8-292f68b3d67a · Printed from grantme.click/grants/2db10fdd-830f-4bde-bfb2-59ec17c18189
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About this grant
In FY 2026, the ECDRE program, under Assistance Listing 10.309, is soliciting proposals to develop effective tactics and strategies to control HLB and its disease complex for financially sustainable citrus production in the United States. All projects funded by the ECDRE program will incorporate collaborative approaches that integrate available knowledge to develop new solutions that can be deployed by growers to manage and prevent HLB infection in the near term.
Who can apply, from the official notice
Pre-applicants for the ECDRE must meet all the requirements discussed in this NOFO. Failure to meet the eligibility criteria by the application deadline may result in exclusion from consideration for those new to Federal financial assistance, NIFA’s About Grants provides highly recommended information about grants and other resources to help understand the Federal awards process.
Pre-applications for the ECDRE may only be submitted by Federal agencies, national laboratories, colleges and universities, research institutions and organizations, private organizations or corporations, State Agricultural Experiment Stations, the Cooperative Extension Service, individuals, or groups consisting of two or more of these entities.
Duplicate or Multiple Submission. Duplicate or multiple submissions with the same lead PD are not allowed. NIFA will disqualify both applications if an applicant submits duplicate or multiple submissions. However, an applicant may act as a Co-PD on multiple unique submissions as well as submit a single unique application as the Lead PD in the same fiscal year.
USDA will not accept competitive applications for grant and cooperative agreements submitted for dangerous gain-of-function research, as defined in Section 8 of E.O. 14292.
Your schedule, working back from the deadline
- Oct7
Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov - Oct12
Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters. - Oct26
Finish a complete draft for a final review
Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft. - Oct31
Submit
Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog - Nov2
Deadline
From the funder.
Save this grant to put these dates in My grants and your private calendar.
Writing the need statement? Gibson County facts with citations.
What the official notice requires
Pulled from the official notice FY26-ECDRE-PA-NOFO-P.pdf (23 pages) so you can see the requirements at a glance. Each item shows the notice's own words. Open the page to read it in context.
Registrations you need first (1)
Grants.gov · p. 12
“The electronic application for this NOFO and additional resources are available on Grants.gov and Grants 101.” Open page 12
The deadline is in 26 days. If your registration isn't already active, it may not be ready in time, so check it today. Get-ready checklist
Steps before the deadline
Pre-application · p. 9
“The ECDRE pre-application process does not result in award recommendations; however, an estimate of project costs is required.” Open page 9
Pre-application · p. 10
“Although not required in the pre-applications, invited full CAP applications will include a business plan for deliverables (e.g., commercialization, regulatory approvals, etc.), an advisory committee, and plans for documenting project impacts and…” Open page 10
Pre-application · p. 14
“Because the scientific merit review panel that examines subsequent full applications will help verify that the pre-application and full-application projects are consistently, the list of project objectives identified here must carry forward to a full…” Open page 14
Pre-application · p. 16
“All administrative requirements must be met in order for the pre-application to proceed to the next level of review.” Open page 16
What to submit
Form SF-424 · p. 13
“Part IV Provide an accurate email address, where designated, on the SF-424 R&R.” Open page 13
Budget narrative / justification · p. 13
“Detailed budgets and budget narratives ARE NOT required in the SRS.” Open page 13
Length limits
Word limit (see quote): 100 words max · p. 14
“Provide a description of the project team’s experience working with the specific stakeholder community and with the problem that will be addressed by the project; a bio of up to 100 words can be included for each.” Open page 14
Formatting rules
1.5-spaced · p. 13
“The SRS must not exceed three 1.5 spaced pages of written text.” Open page 13
12-point font · p. 13
“Text must be 12-point or larger and must be left justified, Times New Roman.” Open page 13
Dates in the notice
November 2, 2026 · p. 8
“Standard Grants only Application Deadline November 2, 2026 Grant Duration: a. 24-36 months for Standard Projects b. 36-60 months for CAP Projects Anticipated # of Awards: 15 Minimum Award Amount: $500,000 Maximum Award Amount: $15,000,000” Open page 8
Mistakes that get applications rejected (1)
Duplicate application: NIFA will disqualify both applications if an applicant submits duplicate or multiple submissions. · p. 11
“NIFA will disqualify both applications if an applicant submits duplicate or multiple submissions.” Open page 11
Who in Tennessee has won this program
2 awards to Tennessee groups in 1 county since 2020 · 0 in Gibson County. Largest shown:
| Past winner | Where | Amount | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee State University | Nashville, Davidson County | $6M | 2020 |
| Tennessee State University | Nashville, Davidson County | $50K | 2024 |
Source: USAspending.gov. Past awards show who this program funds. They don't guarantee future awards.
Tennessee groups that got this money through a state agency or another organization
This federal money also reaches local groups as pass-through grants. 5 pass-through grants on file · 0 in Gibson County. Largest shown:
| Past winner | Where | Through | Amount | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | North Carolina State University | $3.6M | 2025 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | Michigan State University | $708K | 2023 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | Washington State University | $315K | 2023 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | Regents of the University of California at Riverside | $268K | 2025 |
| Tennessee State University | Nashville, Davidson County | North Carolina State University | $228K | 2024 |
Source: USAspending.gov pass-through reports (the first recipient reports each one of $30,000 or more).
About the federal program
Specialty Crop Research Initiative, also called “SCRI”
Program number 10.309 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture · Project grant
How applications are judged
SCRI has instituted a two-phase review process. The first phase of the review process is the Industry Relevance Review. Each Pre-Application containing an SRS will be evaluated in a two-part process. First, each SRS will be screened to ensure that it meets the administrative
requirements as set forth in this NOFO. Administrative requirements include meeting the application deadline; meeting eligibility requirements; satisfying program intent; inclusion of all required sections of the SRS package; and adherence to guidelines. Second, an SRS that meets
these requirements will be evaluated for relevance by a panel of industry reviewers representing closely allied crops. The panel will recommend which applications to invite for submission of a full application. Invited applicants will be sent instructions on how to access the full NOFO via email once the relevance review is completed. NIFA will send copies of reviews, not including the identity of reviewers, and a summary of the panel comments to the PD after the review process has been completed.
Specific details about the criteria for selecting proposals is included in the program NOFO. See the NOFO for more information.
Match
None required (federal program listing).
Examples of funded projects
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Advancing machine harvest technologies for fresh market blueberries.
Systematics, Ecology, Evolution of Pseudomonads infecting chenopods and cucurbits resulting in ACTion
Fight Fusarium! Integrated management of Fusarium basal rot to enhance viability of onion and garlic production in the U.S.
Making cover cropping a more commonly used tool for integrated weed management (IWM) programs in vegetable production.