Agrodefesa monitors 2.563 hectares of citrus in Goiás

The Goiás Agricultural Defense Agency (Agrodefesa) has started a new annual survey of quarantine pests such as Citrus Canker and HLB (Greening) on ​​properties with commercial citrus production and in all citrus seedling nurseries in Goiás. The survey began in October and will continue until December 22, on 64 properties in 51 municipalities in the state, and in 10 citrus seedling nurseries located in Goiânia and nearby municipalities.

The objective is to adopt procedures to maintain the phytosanitary status related to quarantine pests, in addition to obtaining representative geographic coverage of the occurrence of pests in the state. Federal legislation requires that this be carried out in at least 10% of the commercial areas registered in the Agricultural Defense System of the State of Goiás (Sidago) and in all citrus nurseries registered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa), which have the National Registry of Seeds and Seedlings (Renasem), which are registered and inspected by Agrodefesa. The Federal Normative Instruction No. 021/2018, for Citrus Canker, and Federal Ordinance No. 317/2021, for HLB, both published by Mapa, are considered for carrying out the work.

“Over the years, Agrodefesa has carried out very fruitful work with commercial citrus producers and nurseries to prevent the spread of pests such as Citrus Canker and HLB, both of which are present in the state under official control. These are phytosanitary measures that help producers and contribute to the health of our orchards, since they are very important commercial areas for Goiás, such as oranges, whose production is estimated to grow for the 2024 harvest and which contributes to maintaining Brazil in the ranking of the largest exporter of fruit juice,” explains the president of Agrodefesa, José Ricardo Caixeta Ramos.

In total, 2.563 hectares of selected commercial citrus properties are being monitored by 66 state agricultural inspectors from the 12 Regional Units of Agrodefesa. In the case of nurseries, ten establishments are being inspected, located in the cities of Anápolis, Goiânia, Goianira, Itaberaí and Goiatuba. The survey is coordinated by the Plant Health Department of the Ministry.

“Our state agricultural inspectors, who are agricultural engineers, are visiting the regions of the state where citrus farming predominates to conduct this annual survey. Based on the official data and reports obtained, a technical report will be forwarded to Mapa to obtain an update on the phytosanitary status of pests in Goiás, thus ensuring the quality of seedlings and fruits sold nationwide,” concludes Daniela Rézio, Plant Health Manager at Agrodefesa.