HLB and Canker Incidence Increasing in Brazil

Josh McGill Brazil, Diseases

The average incidence of HLB rose from 22.37% in 2021 to 24.42% in 2022 in Brazil’s citrus belt, an annual survey by Fundecitrus shows. That’s an increase of 9.16%. In the regions of Brotas, Limeira and Porto Ferreira, where the incidence was already high in previous years, HLB increased to even more worrying levels of 49.41%, 70.72% and 74.05%, respectively. …

Brazil Issues Orange Forecast Update

Josh McGill Brazil, Crop Forecast

An orange forecast update for Brazil’s São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt is for 314.09 million boxes, a decrease of 2.86 million boxes or 0.9% from the original May forecast. The update was issued by Fundecitrus. All of the decrease is in the early-season orange varieties. The forecast for Hamlin, Westin and Rubi oranges is now 57.1 million …

Psyllid Management Alert for Brazil

Josh McGill Brazil, HLB Management, Psyllids

The onset of rains in several regions of Brazil’s citrus belt has made it necessary for growers to pay added attention to citrus greening, Fundecitrus reported. The association of citrus growers and juice manufacturers from the state of São Paulo said the extra attention is needed due to the increase in greening-spreading psyllid populations in this period. Fundectirus reported that …

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Microregion Maps in Brazil Help With HLB

Josh McGill Brazil, HLB Management, Research

Microregion maps developed by Fundecitrus should help Brazilian citrus growers make the necessary decisions to combat HLB disease, also known as greening. Fundecitrus explained that the incidence of HLB differs in the various regions of Brazil’s extensive citrus belt. To allow citrus growers to better understand the places where the disease is located, a study by Fundecitrus divided the belt …

Expectations for Brazil’s 2022–23 Orange Crop

Josh McGill Brazil, Orange Juice, Production

Brazil’s 2022–23 orange harvest is expected to yield a crop of 414.4 million 40.8-kg boxes (MBx), an increase of 15% over the prior season’s production. That forecast was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) in its semi-annual report on Brazilian citrus. Most of Brazil’s 2022–23 orange harvest will come from the state of São Paulo …

Leprosis Management Recommendations for Brazil

Josh McGill Brazil, Diseases

Fundecitrus recently issued recommendations for leprosis management in Brazil. Leprosis has been expanding in the Brazilian citrus belt for the last six years and is an increasingly significant cause of fruit drop. The disease also causes a reduction in the useful life of the tree, weakened by defoliation and drying of the branches. The main disease management strategy is to …

Fruit Flies Are Major Cause of Fruit Drop in Brazil

Josh McGill Brazil, Fruit Drop, Pests

Brazil’s Fundecitrus recently pointed out that fruit flies, along with citrus fruit borers, are primarily responsible for the country’s citrus fruit drop. The organization suggested that monitoring and management must be taken to avoid economic damage, since fruit flies occur throughout the year. Fundecitrus described the fruit flies that cause damage in Brazil and suggested control measures.   Two species of …

Brazil’s First Orange Forecast for 2022–2023

Josh McGill Brazil, Crop Forecast

The 2022–2023 initial orange crop forecast for Brazil’s São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt is 316.95 million boxes. The forecast was published on May 26 by Fundecitrus and its cooperators. The projected volume is 20.53% higher than the previous crop, which totaled 262.97 million boxes. The orange production forecast includes:• 59.48 million boxes of Hamlin, Westin and Rubi• …

Brazil to Study Wildlife in Citrus Orchards

Josh McGill Brazil, Environment, Research

Embrapa and Fundecitrus, which are investigating carbon stocks in the Brazilian citrus belt, will also study how citrus production sites and farms can be habitats for wild fauna. Embrapa is the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. “Biodiversity is an indicator of environmental quality,” says Embrapa researcher José Roberto Miranda. He will coordinate the work to identify vertebrate animals, especially birds and …

Drone Aids Brazil in HLB Battle

Josh McGill Brazil, HLB Management, Technology

The use of a drone for chemical control of the psyllid that spreads HLB adds to Brazil’s efforts to battle the citrus disease, recent research indicates. The research was conducted by Fundecitrus in partnership with the startup Anáhata Serviços Agronômicos. Drones are ideal for complementing terrestrial applications and for emergency applications that need to be made quickly. For example, a …

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Brazil Has Knowledge Needed to Manage HLB

Josh McGill Brazil, HLB Management

Although a Fundecitrus researcher recently called the HLB situation in Brazil “alarming,” the organization says the industry has the knowledge needed to manage the disease. HLB is also known as citrus greening.  “The management package exists and is efficient. The problem is that, in order to reduce costs, it is not applied rigorously, correctly and in an integrated manner,” said …

Quantifying Brazilian Citrus Carbon Stocks

Josh McGill Brazil, Environment

Fundecitrus and Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) recently began a joint effort to quantify carbon stocks in the citrus belt of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. The project receives funding from Innocent Drinks. The company’s Farmers Innovation Fund offers financial support for projects that aim to reduce carbon in agriculture and inspire farmers to adopt good practices. The work in …

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Final Forecast for Brazil’s 2021–2022 Citrus Season

Josh McGill Brazil, Crop Forecast, International

According to Fundecitrus and its cooperators, the final 2021–2022 orange crop for the São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt in Brazil is 262.97 million boxes. This final figure was 10.61% smaller than the initially expected volume published in May 2021, corresponding to a significant crop loss of 31.20 million boxes. This was an “on year” for the alternate-bearing, …

Researcher: HLB Situation in Brazil Is ‘Alarming’

Josh McGill Brazil, HLB Management

A decrease in the practice of eradicating HLB-infected trees is one of the reasons for increased HLB infections in Brazil, Fundecitrus researcher Renato Bassanezi stated recently. An HLB survey conducted by Fundecitrus pointed to an increase in the incidence of the disease in plants aged six to 10 years and over 10 years for the fifth consecutive year. That shows …

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Brazil’s Orange Crop Holding Steady

Josh McGill Brazil, Forecast, International

While the February Florida orange crop forecast saw a decline, Brazil’s February orange forecast is unchanged from its December forecast. Published on Feb. 10 by Fundecitrus and its cooperators, the third 2021–2022 orange crop forecast update for the São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt remains at 264.14 million boxes. Should this forecast hold true until harvest ends, Brazil’s …

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Brazil: Production and Planting Projections

Ernie Neff International

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) recently reported on the citrus industry in Brazil, including updates on orange production, yield, area planted and tree inventory. The orange crop for Brazil’s marketing year 2022-23 is forecast at 405 million 40.8-kg boxes (MBx), equal to 16.52 million metric tons, an increase of 12% relative to the current season. The …

An Update on Brazil’s Citrus Diseases

Ernie Neff Brazil, Diseases

An update on citrus diseases in Brazil was part of a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) report. GREENING INCREASINGAccording to the 2021 citrus greening survey conducted by Fundecitrus, 43.4 million trees, or 22.37%, of the trees in the commercial area of the state of São Paulo and the western part of Minas Gerais are affected by …

Updated Brazilian OJ Projection

Ernie Neff Brazil, Orange Juice

The total Brazilian frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) 65 Brix equivalent production for 2021-22 is projected at 1.123 million metric tons (MMT). That projection, which is an increase of 16% compared to orange juice production for 2020-21, was made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).   The São Paulo industry is expected to process 265 million …

Updated Orange Crop Forecast for Brazil

Tacy Callies Brazil, Crop Forecast

The second 2021-2022 orange crop forecast update for Brazil’s São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt was released on Dec. 10 by Fundecitrus and its cooperators. The orange crop is projected at 264.14 million boxes. The crop size is down 1.39% from September’s forecast update and continues in a downward trend. Since May, the crop has decreased a total …

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Brazil’s Orange Crop Takes a Downward Turn

Tacy Callies Brazil, Crop Forecast

Fundecitrus and its cooperators announced on Sept. 10 that Brazil’s 2021-22 orange crop forecast has decreased to 267.87 million boxes. This is a decrease of 8.9% from May’s initial forecast of 294.17 million boxes. While Brazil was initially expecting a larger orange crop this season, the updated forecast is less than the 268.63 million boxes Brazil produced in 2020-2021. The …