Researchers with Brazil’s Fundecitrus discussed HLB-related topics at the recent 15th International Citrus Conference in South Korea. Fundecitrus’ Franklin Behlau participated in the section of papers related to HLB, also known as citrus greening disease. Most of the papers provided updates on the disease situation in different locations, including Florida, China, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Iran and Brazil. Behlau discussed the …
Fundecitrus Signs Agreement Seeking HLB Solutions
Nelson Wulff of Fundecitrus recently signed a technical cooperation agreement between Fundecitrus and the National Center of Genetic Resources (Cenargen/Embrapa) for a project to develop biotechnological solutions for HLB. Wulff, coordinator of the Fundecitrus Biotechnology and Diagnostics Laboratory, signed the agreement at the 50th anniversary ceremony of Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology in Brazil. Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology has …
Brazil Releases Update to Orange Forecast
Fundecitrus and its cooperators released a second update to the 2024–25 orange crop forecast for Brazil’s São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais Citrus Belt. The Dec. 10 projection is 223.14 million 90-pound boxes. That’s an increase of 3.4% from September’s update but a 4% decrease from the initial May forecast of 232.38 million boxes. The forecast by orange variety, with …
Florida Researchers Visit Brazil’s Citrus Industry
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) citrus researcher Fernando Alferez recently visited Brazil’s Fundecitrus, as well as orchards and experiments in Brazil’s citrus region. Alferez, an associate professor of horticulture at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, was accompanied by researchers from Fundecitrus and Embrapa Cassava & Fruits. The project coordinator of Florida’s Citrus Research …
Rain Brings Relief but Brazil Orange Quality Still Low
Regular rains and mild weather in Brazil’s Citrus Belt of São Paulo and Triângulo Mineiro in late October brought relief for trees affected by prior lack of rain and high temperatures. The better weather may improve the quality of fruit that is still on the trees. But even with the return of rainfall, the 2024–25 orange crop has presented low …
Brazil’s Harvest+ Project Increases Harvesters’ Income
Brazilian citrus farming faces several challenges, including the shortage of labor to harvest the fruit and the efficiency and performance of the harvesters’ work. The Harvest+ project, created by Fundecitrus, seeks to improve the harvest process through improvements in manual harvesting and promoting mechanized and semi-mechanized solutions. One result achieved by the project is a 7% increase in the daily …
Rootstocks Show Drought Tolerance in Brazil
The drop in Brazil’s 2024 citrus harvest is due, among other factors, to the long period of drought observed in the Citrus Belt, according to Fundecitrus. Mitigating problems related to periods of drought is the objective of several studies being conducted by Fundecitrus, Embrapa Cassava and Fruits, Coopercitrus Credicitrus Foundation and the Agronomic Institute (IAC). One of these studies takes …
Top Pruning Evaluated as HLB Strategy
A Brazilian study evaluated the effects of top pruning on orange trees located on the edges of an orchard as part of an HLB management strategy. The pruning was an attempt to attract the HLB-spreading psyllid from external areas to the orchard edges and control it, reducing its dispersion into the orchard. Fundecitrus and Embrapa Cassava and Fruits conducted the …
Brazilian Citrus Researchers Discuss Pest Management
Fundecitrus researchers Marcelo Miranda and Wellington Ivo Eduardo participated in the recent XXIX Brazilian Congress of Entomology in Uberlândia in the state of Minas Gerais. In a round table discussion on fruit plant pests, Miranda addressed the challenges of implementing integrated pest management in citrus for insect vectors of pathogens. This includes the leafhopper that transmits citrus variegated chlorosis and …
Update on Orange Juice Processing in São Paulo
Orange juice processing for the 2024–25 season was moving at a good pace in Brazil’s São Paulo state at the end of September, the Center for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics (CEPEA) at the University of São Paulo reported. The Pera orange has been the most processed variety so far, but the harvesting and processing pace of late fruit such …
Psyllid Control Discussed at South African Citrus Symposium
Researchers Marcelo Miranda and Haroldo Volpe with Brazil’s Fundecitrus discussed control of the HLB-spreading psyllid during a recent visit to a South African research symposium and accompanying events. During the Citrus Research Symposium in Drakensberg, Miranda discussed studies developed at Fundecitrus on the management of the HLB-spreading psyllid (Diaphorina citri). In South Africa, HLB is caused by a bacteria different …
HLB Incidence Exceeds 44% in Brazil’s Citrus Belt
Fundecitrus’ annual survey of HLB in Brazil indicates that disease incidence rose from 38.06% in 2023 to 44.35% in 2024 throughout the Citrus Belt of São Paulo and Triângulo/Southwest Mineiro. This is the seventh consecutive year of growth for the disease. HLB was found in approximately 90.36 million trees. In total, there are 203.74 million orange trees throughout the Citrus …
Brazil’s Orange Forecast Falls Further
Fundecitrus and its cooperators issued the first update to Brazil’s 2024–25 orange crop forecast on Sept. 10. The forecast of 215.78 million boxes for the São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais Citrus Belt is down 7.1% from the initial May forecast of 232.38 million boxes. With a total reduction of 16.6 million boxes, all varieties are expected to have lower …
Heat and HLB Hurting Brazil’s Production
Brazil’s citrus crop is suffering this season, according to Franklin Behlau, a senior researcher for Fundecitrus. That was the focus of a recent presentation he provided at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. “Things have changed in Brazil this season,” Behlau said. “We are a little behind …
Risk of Citrus Floral Rot in Brazil
Brazil’s Fundecitrus recently issued an alert about the risk of citrus floral rot during the current citrus flowering period. Citrus flowering periods must be on growers’ radar to avoid damage to orchards caused by citrus floral rot, also known as starlet. Attention must be doubled, especially if the flowering coincides with rainy periods, a determining factor in the occurrence of …
Fundecitrus Researchers Participate in Northeast Citrus Show
Fundecitrus researchers Silvio Lopes and Wellington Ivo Eduardo participated recently in the second edition of the Northeast Citrus Show in Aracaju, Brazil. Lopes gave a lecture on the two main Brazilian citrus diseases: citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) and citrus greening. “In the orchards of Bahia and Sergipe, greening has not yet been detected, but there are psyllids,” Lopes reported. He …
Fundecitrus Declares ‘Battle Time’ Against Psyllids
Brazil’s Fundecitrus recently declared battle in the fight against HLB-spreading psyllids. The citrus association’s recently launched “It’s battle time!” advertising campaign reinforces the need for rigor in psyllid control during the most critical period of the year. It is at this time, between the end of winter and spring, that high numbers of psyllids are captured in traps installed in …
What Will the Ideal Grove of the Future Look Like?
Since no cure exists for citrus greening-diseased plants, Brazilian researchers are developing ways to modify orange trees and the environment around groves to make it harder for greening-spreading psyllids to thrive. LOCATION AND LAYOUT The ideal grove envisioned by Fundecitrus researchers, in collaboration with the Spanish National Research Council/Polytechnic University of Valencia and Durham University (England), starts with a careful …
Greening Bacterium Causes Changes in Psyllids
Recent studies, including a partnership project between Fundecitrus and the University of California, revealed that the citrus greening bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus causes physiological changes in psyllids, posing additional challenges to management strategies. An increase in the number of eggs, more frequent dispersal flights over longer distances and greater attractiveness to the host are some of the changes observed in …
Task Force and Credit Line to Assist Brazil with Greening
Fundecitrus recently announced two efforts aimed at assisting Brazilian growers with citrus greening. A São Paulo task force will include a focus on the disease, and a credit line will be available for growers with greening in their orchards. In addition to greening, the public/private task force will address development of biofertilizer and biological research, studies to increase productivity in …