Fundecitrus Executive Director Juliano Ayres and researcher Nelson Wulff visited China recently to learn about strategies to combat citrus greening and to strengthen research partnerships. Their agenda included technical visits and participation in an international symposium on biotechnological innovations aimed at controlling greening.
Among the highlights was a visit to the greenhouse of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.
“We made a very important visit to the experimental field and greenhouses where experiments are being conducted with new peptides aimed at controlling the greening bacteria in diseased orange trees,” Ayres said. “If this strategy is successful, it will represent a paradigm shift and concrete hope not only for Brazilian citrus farming, but for the entire global sector. This meeting with Chinese researchers is undoubtedly a significant step forward, as it opens new perspectives for consolidating important international scientific cooperation, with the possibility, in the short term, of replicating the tests under Brazilian conditions and validating the true potential of this technology in controlling greening, a disease that has challenged global citrus farming for years.”
During the symposium, Ayres presented an overview of Brazilian citrus farming, highlighting the management strategies adopted to combat citrus greening in the country. He emphasized the importance of scientific cooperation between Brazil and China. Wulff discussed promising biotechnological approaches to controlling the disease.
The symposium also featured researchers from Southwest University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who presented studies on resistant germplasm, resistance genes in wild plants and new technologies for controlling greening.
“Fundecitrus has in its DNA the constant pursuit of international scientific cooperation, always guided by innovation and the resolution of challenges facing Brazilian citrus farming,” Ayres said. “We will overcome greening with this spirit of solidarity, cooperation and a sense of urgency. We need to continue moving forward, as only then will we address the Achilles’ heel of this disease.”
Source: Fundecitrus