The secretary of agriculture and supply of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in partnership with Fundecitrus, has launched a campaign to replace plants that are hosts for the HLB-spreading psyllid. HLB disease is also known as citrus greening. The campaign, called Plant This Idea, aims to replace citrus and myrtle plants with fruitful and ornamental plants in rural backyards and urban areas. With the replacement of these plants, it is possible to reduce psyllid migration to commercial orchards, thus reducing the contamination of healthy plants.
The campaign is part of the Sustainable Citrus project, which carries out a series of awareness, training and knowledge transfer actions. The actions are aimed at helping citrus growers control pests and diseases, with emphasis on combating HLB.
Considered the greatest phytosanitary challenge for the citrus industry worldwide, HLB causes serious damage to production in orchards, with a decrease in productivity and fruit quality. The last annual incidence survey carried out by Fundecitrus pointed out that the disease rose from 22.37% in 2021 to 24.42% in 2022 in the entire citrus belt of São Paulo and Triângulo/Southwest Mineiro. HLB has devastated the Florida citrus industry since being found in that U.S. state in 2005, drastically reducing citrus production and acreage.
The coordinator of the Fundecitrus Technology Transfer department, Ivaldo Sala, reported that the work of external control of HLB has been carried out by Fundecitrus and citrus growers since 2017.
“We face a major challenge in citrus farming, which is greening. This campaign will help to ensure that information quickly reaches producers and the entire population,” Sala said. “It is imperative that producers in the citrus belt work together and adopt efficient and sustainable measures to reduce the spread of the disease in orchards.”
Source: Fundecitrus
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