Insect-borne bacteria forces citrus growers to cut down trees in Brazil

Published 2022년 9월 21일

Tridge summary

Brazil, the world's largest citrus fruit producer, is combating the psyllid, Diaphorina citri, and the disease it transmits, greening. This pest, which resides in tropical climates, causes significant damage to citrus trees by sucking sap and spreading the disease through its eggs. Greening, an incurable disease, is symptomized by yellow or irregularly spotted leaves and necessitates the removal of infected trees. The absence of a cure necessitates the use of insecticides for prevention and poses threats to citrus production and global market income.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

It measures up to 3 millimeters and lives from 12 to 43 days, but it is devastating for citrus fruit production. The presence of the insect Diaphorina citri, the scientific name of the psyllid, has the potential to cause the destruction of entire orchards. And Brazilian production is not small: there are about 19.3 million tons of the various varieties of orange, lemon and tangerine – also known as tangerine and bergamot. The data, from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), also reveal that about 86% of this production is exclusively orange – which makes Brazil the largest global exporter –, 8% lemon and 5% tangerine. According to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), our country is the largest producer of citrus fruits in the world. “These fruits, grown on more than 688,000 hectares, face serious health challenges, which compromise production and quality. The psyllid is one of the main examples, as they suck the sap from trees, weakening ...

Source: Abrafrutas