The 2026 citrus disease incidence survey conducted by Fundecitrus shows that greening affected 48.08% of orange trees in Brazil’s Citrus Belt spanning São Paulo and the Triângulo/Southwest Minas Gerais regions. This is a 0.9% increase compared to 2025, when the incidence rate was 47.63%. The rise was just 0.45% — significantly lower than the 3.28% increase recorded in 2025. This marks the slowest rate of disease progression in the last nine years.
These results continue the trend of deceleration observed in recent years. In 2024, incidence rose by 6.27% (from 38.08% to 44.35%).
REASONS FOR SLOWDOWN
According to the survey, the slowdown is linked to a combination of factors. These include improved psyllid control in 2025 — resulting in 45% fewer psyllids captured compared to 2024 — and weather conditions that were less favorable for the transmission of the greening bacterium.
Strategies to renew citrus groves — including the removal of more infected plants and orchards in high-incidence regions alongside increased planting in lower-risk areas — also contributed to the lower disease growth rate. In the 2025–26 period, 74% of the eradicated area was concentrated in the regions most affected by the disease, while 45% of new plantings took place in lower-risk regions. In total, 17,821 hectares of new plantings and 12,504 hectares of eradication were recorded in the Citrus Belt.
YOUNG VS. OLDER TREES
Another positive indicator is the incidence rates among younger trees. In orange trees up to two years old, the proportion of symptomatic trees saw a slight increase, rising from 2.72% in 2025 to 3.03% in 2026. For trees aged three to five years, incidence fell from 39.18% to 29.5% during the same period. The survey attributes this trend to a smaller psyllid population, the removal of younger diseased trees and planting in lower-risk areas.
Conversely, in orchards over 10 years old — where growers remove fewer symptomatic trees — incidence rose from 58.43% in 2025 to 63.27% in 2026.
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES
The survey highlights significant differences across the regions of the citrus-growing area. In 2026, the highest greening incidence rates were observed in the São Paulo regions of Limeira (82.1%), Porto Ferreira (72.43%), Avaré (69.5%), Brotas (68.1%) and Duartina (65.53%). The lowest rates were recorded in the Triângulo Mineiro (0.31%), Votuporanga (4.63%) and São José do Rio Preto (32.79%) regions.
Compared to 2025, incidence increased in some of the most affected regions, while other areas showed stability or a decline. The sharpest increases occurred in the Brotas and Bebedouro regions of São Paulo.
Source: Fundecitrus
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