Fundecitrus researcher Silvio Lopes and agricultural engineer Orlando Lucato Neto recently addressed how climate variation impacts the development of citrus shoots — the HLB-spreading psyllid’s main food source. They also discussed the incidence of psyllids in Brazilian orchards.
Lopes said climate impacts the three components of HLB disease: the citrus plant, the vector insect (psyllid) and the causative bacteria.
“The climate alters the sprouting patterns of the citrus plant, with periods of more intense growth and other periods of dormancy, depending on the region,” Lopes said. “In addition, it influences the biology of the insect. Colder temperatures slow down its life cycle, reducing the reproduction rate. The bacteria, in turn, do not multiply well in extreme temperatures.”
According to Lopes, the spread of the disease was lower last year than expected due to intense drought and prolonged heat waves. “This affected the bacteria and the rate of acquisition by the psyllid, resulting in a lower incidence than expected,” Lopes explained.
Neto said research was conducted in three regions of the Brazilian Citrus Belt — north, center and south — to evaluate the growth of citrus shoots and their interaction with the psyllid.
“Every 21 days, we took healthy seedlings to these locations and pruned them to stimulate budding, which was monitored weekly,” Neto said.
Neto detailed how the growth of the shoots was measured and the relationship with the insect vector: “The psyllid prefers to feed and reproduce in shoots in stages V1 to V3, mainly in V2. In each location, when the shoots reached this point, we placed two pairs of psyllids for a week and then evaluated how many offspring emerged.”
The study revealed significant differences between regions, helping researchers to better understand the dynamics of the disease and its spread.
Source: Fundecitrus
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