Brazil's

Brazil’s First Forecast for the 2024–25 Citrus Season

Daniel CooperBrazil, Crop Forecast

The 2024–25 orange crop forecast for Brazil’s São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt, published on May 10 by Fundecitrus and its cooperators, is 232.38 million 90-pound boxes. The projected volume represents a significant drop of 24.36% as compared to the previous crop of 307.22 million boxes. VARIETY BREAKDOWN Production by variety is divided as follows (figures in parentheses …

guide

Guide Helps Brazilian Growers Evaluate Greening Products

Daniel CooperBrazil, HLB Management

Brazil’s Fundecitrus has prepared and released the free Guide for Citrus Growers: Evaluation of Products to Reduce Damage Caused by Greening. The guide is aimed at growers, researchers and professionals working in citrus farming. The guide brings together suggestions for a thorough assessment in the orchard, allowing citrus growers and technicians to analyze the effectiveness of available chemical products and …

Investing

Investing in New Citrus Plantings in Brazil Can Be Worthwhile

Daniel CooperBrazil, Economics, planting

A study by Brazilian citrus consultant Gilberto Tozatti indicated that even under high HLB pressure, but with reasonable prices, it is worth investing in new citrus plantings. Tozatti’s study, presented at the recent International Research Conference on HLB, received support from the Group of Citrus Consultants (GCONCI). Tozatti summarized his presentation: Brazil is the world leader in the production of …

hlb

Rigorous HLB Control Works at Brazilian Farm

Daniel CooperBrazil, HLB Management

Fabrício Eustáquio Lanza, research coordinator at Brazil’s Cambuhy Agricola, recently told how his company has kept HLB at low and economically acceptable incidence levels. His presentation at the recent International Research Conference on HLB was based on a report he co-authored with Alexandre Tachibana, Ivan Brandimarte, Antonio Juliano Ayres and Renato Beozzo Bassanezi. The report follows: MANAGEMENT MEASURES Huanglongbing (HLB), …

harvest+

Brazil’s Harvest+ Seeks Improved Citrus Harvesting

Daniel CooperBrazil, Harvesting

Brazil’s Fundecitrus, in partnership with the companies Agricef and Move Agro, has created the Harvest+ project that seeks to improve the country’s orange harvest. In addition to enhancing the manual harvesting process, the project is searching for mechanized and semi-mechanized solutions for citrus farming. Harvest+ is in response to demand from producers and companies that want equipment capable of harvesting …

Brazilian

Outlook for Brazilian Acreage and Production

Daniel CooperAcreage, Brazil, Production

A study by researchers Gilberto Tozatti, Mauricio Mendez and Rodolfo Castro indicated the likely future significant reduction in Brazilian citrus acreage and production due to huanglongbing (HLB or greening). The calculations are based solely on the current Brazilian Citrus Belt and do not consider future citrus projects happening in areas outside of it. Tozatti presented the study at the recent …

final

Final Orange Forecast for Brazil’s 2023–24 Season

Daniel CooperBrazil, Crop Forecast

Fundecitrus and its cooperators published the final orange production forecast on April 10 for the 2023–24 crop season in Brazil’s São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt. The forecast calls for 307.22 million 90-pound boxes of oranges, unchanged from the February forecast. The final forecast by variety is: The season’s production was 2.2% lower than the prior year’s crop …

factors

Factors That Impact Control of Citrus Leprosis

Daniel CooperBrazil, Diseases

Several factors can influence the period of citrus leprosis control after acaricide applications, according to a study by Daniel Andrade, a professor and researcher from São Paulo State University in Brazil. The research aimed to better understand how these factors can affect and increase the leprosis control period. “We studied acaricides, the moment of application of the acaricide, the presence …

fertilization

Greening Study: Extra Fertilization Doesn’t Increase Yield

Daniel CooperBrazil, HLB Management, Nutrition

A study carried out by Brazil’s Fundecitrus in partnership with the Agronomic Institute (IAC) showed that additional fertilization of orchards had no effect on increasing the production of trees with citrus greening. The research was conducted in well-nourished adult orchards with a low incidence of greening. Results were published in January in the journal PhytoFrontiers of the American Society of …

Brazilian

New Tool Will Help Brazilian Growers Manage Psyllids

Daniel CooperBrazil, HLB Management, Psyllids

Fundecitrus has launched Evaluate Psyllid, a tool that will help citrus growers choose insecticides to manage the pest that spreads citrus greening disease. Evaluate Psyllid will make available the results of insecticide efficacy experiments on field psyllid populations in different regions of Brazil’s citrus belt. The insecticide efficacy data will be constantly updated as experiments are carried out. It will …

Pheromone

Pheromone-Based Psyllid Control Not Viable

Daniel CooperBrazil, Psyllids, Research

Studies with psyllid pheromones show that the insect’s behavior is altered when it is infected by the HLB-causing bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter (CLas). This makes it difficult to produce a commercial psyllid-control product based on the insect pheromone, Brazil’s Fundecitrus has concluded. “The sexual pheromone is an attractant produced by the female of the species, which promotes behavioral changes in male …

forecast

Brazil Citrus Season Nears End

Daniel CooperBrazil, Crop Forecast

The Feb. 9 forecast for the 2023–24 orange crop in the São Paulo and West-Southwest of Minas Gerais citrus belt of Brazil is unchanged from December 2023 at 307.22 million boxes of 40.8 kilograms each. This represents a reduction of 0.7% when compared to the initial forecast for the season. Of the total estimated production, approximately 27.76 million boxes are …

juice production

Brazil’s Orange Crop and Juice Production

Daniel CooperBrazil, Crop Forecast

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS), Brazilian orange and orange juice production are both forecast to decline in 2023–24 compared to the prior year. ORANGE CROP The total Brazilian 2023–24 orange crop is forecast at 408 million 40.8-kilogram boxes, equivalent to 16.5 million metric tons (MMT). This is a decrease of 1.03% from the …

New Research on Neonicotinoids for Psyllids

Tacy CalliesBrazil, Psyllids, Research

Continuing Brazilian research into the application of neonicotinoids via drench for control of HLB-spreading psyllids shows higher efficacy than earlier results indicated. In September, Fundecitrus released preliminary results on the application of neonicotinoids via drench. At that time, tests carried out on a property in Casa Branca, São Paulo, showed that the efficiency of the molecules for this type of …

orange

Brazil’s Orange Forecast Declines

Daniel CooperBrazil, Crop Forecast

The updated forecast for the 2023–24 orange crop in Brazil’s citrus belt is 307.22 million boxes of 40.8 kilograms each. That’s a reduction of 2.12 million boxes, or 0.7%, from the September forecast of 309.34 million boxes. The update was issued Dec. 11 by Fundecitrus in cooperation with its partners. The forecast, by varieties, is: IMPACTS ON FRUIT SIZE In …

climate

Heat Wave in Brazil Concerns Citrus Growers

Daniel CooperBrazil, Production, Weather

According to the Center for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics (CEPEA), a new heat wave in Brazil’s São Paulo state has been concerning citrus growers. Temperatures are higher than those registered in the last wave in September and are lasting longer. Many producers say that the weather may affect 2024–25 production, but it is still too early to estimate possible …

areas

Fundecitrus Repudiates Articles About Citrus Greening

Daniel CooperBrazil, Citrus Greening

Fundecitrus says it repudiates recent articles that claim productivity in Brazil’s São Paulo and Minas Gerais citrus belt will be reduced by 60% in the next five years due to citrus greening disease. Fundecitrus says Chilean and Spanish news portals published such reports on Nov. 14.  According to Fundecitrus, this information is not valid, nor was it ever provided by …

greening

Brazilians Discuss How to Avoid Florida’s Fate With Greening

Daniel CooperBrazil, HLB Management

Brazil’s government, institutions and citrus growers need to join efforts to overcome greening “so that Brazil does not go through the same situation as Florida,” a São Paulo agriculture official declared Nov. 7. Orlando Melo de Castro, undersecretary of agriculture, made those remarks to about 500 people at an international citrus symposium in Araraquara, São Paulo. “To this end, we …

Brazilian

Economist Provides Brazilian Citrus Update

Daniel CooperBrazil, Economics, Florida Department of Citrus

Agriculture is the driving force in the Brazilian economy, and Brazil is a leading food supplier to the global market, economist Marisa Zansler told the Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) at its last meeting. Zansler is director of economic and market research at the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC). She visited Brazil in August and provided the FCC with an update …

São Paulo Governor Creates Greening Committee

Josh McGillBrazil, Citrus Greening, HLB Management

The governor of Brazil’s state of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, on Oct. 16 decreed the formation of a state committee for greening contingency after meeting with several members of the state’s citrus industry. Greening affects 38.06% of orange trees in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. The governor acted after considerations by the Sylvio Moreira Citriculture Center/Agronomic …