“For the incidence to be zero, the control needs to be 10.” That’s the motto of the new Fundecitrus campaign to mitigate the incidence of citrus greening in Brazil.
The campaign highlights the need for strict control of the greening-spreading psyllid, especially in new regions where citrus farming is advancing. Those regions include the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás and other regions of Minas Gerais.
The expansion of orchards to new areas free of greening or with low levels of the disease is a measure adopted by some Brazilian citrus growers. That’s a result of the high incidence of greening in some of Brazil’s Citrus Belt regions. However, it’s important to reinforce control measures for both greening and other citrus diseases.
Fundecitrus Executive Director Juliano Ayres sees the increase in commercial orchards as a major factor in the natural spread of the psyllid, which worsens the spread of greening. “For this reason, putting known management into practice is a constant task for new areas,” Ayres said. “Rotation of insecticide modes of action, adequate spraying frequency, quality of application, choice of effective products and elimination of diseased plants are the main management guidelines that should not be missed.”
These measures must be included in management, as the emergence of diseases is inherent to the growth of citrus farming. Surveillance must be constant from the beginning so that the same mistakes are not made that allowed greening to grow to alarming levels in some regions of the state of São Paulo.
Recent surveys on properties with citrus have already recorded the presence of the greening bacteria in more than 30 municipalities in Mato Grosso do Sul, as well as in Campo Limpo de Goiás and Quirinópolis in Goiás. “These occurrences of greening reinforce the need for attention and extra care on the part of the citrus grower,” Ayres said.
Source: Fundecitrus
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