Government of SP launches campaign to combat greening

The Government of São Paulo launched a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of combating Greening, a pest that affects orange and other citrus plantations. The measure is part of the set of actions taken by state management to control the disease, which is transmitted by an insect and represents a threat to citrus farming in the State.

“The State Government researches, invests and works alongside producers in the fight to control this pest. All against Greening. Monitor, inspect and eradicate”, says an excerpt from the piece that started to be broadcast this week.

São Paulo is one of the largest orange producers in the world and the largest in the country. Therefore, Greening control is extremely important for São Paulo's agribusiness. According to the Citrus Defense Fund (Fundecitrus), São Paulo's citrus industry exports US$2 billion per year. There are around 9,6 properties that generate 200 jobs in the state.

In a meeting held with department technicians, governor Tarcísio de Freitas pointed out that pest control must be treated as a priority, with short, medium and long-term actions.

Reporting channel 

In October, the Agricultural Defense Coordination (CDA), of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply (SAA), created a direct channel so that the population, especially rural producers, can report cases of “citrus greening”. The measure aims to contain the spread of the disease called Huanglongbing (HLB).

The reporting channel aims to inform the Agricultural Defense of the location of these abandoned or poorly managed citrus groves, so that education and awareness actions for producers can be put into practice and, thus, the necessary measures can be adopted to control Greening.

The existence of this type of orchard, without control of the psyllid (Diaphorina citri), which is the vector of the pest, or without eradication of plants contaminated with the disease for up to eight years, acts as a source of contamination for other orchards.

In accordance with Ordinance SDA/Mapa nº 317, of May 21, 2021, and SAA Resolution nº 88, of December 08, 2021, in all orchards with citrus plants it is mandatory to carry out efficient control of the psyllid.

Committee to combat greening

In addition to the channel, the São Paulo government also created, last month, the State Committee to Combat Greening. The group brings together five secretariats, as well as producers and representatives of the citrus sector.

Made official through a decree signed by the governor, the committee can propose public policies, guidelines, criteria and procedures for controlling the disease.

The board is made up of representatives from the Agriculture and Supply departments; Environment, Infrastructure and Logistics; of the Civil House; of Finance and Planning; and Science, Technology and Innovation.

Among the committee's duties is coordination between public authorities and representatives of production chains, aiming to disseminate practices, technologies and actions to control and prevent the pest.

Removal of seedlings

Still in the wake of the actions taken by the São Paulo government, the Department of Agriculture and Supply intensified actions to combat the trade in irregular citrus seedlings. On November 8th and 9th, 9 irregular citrus seedlings that were stored in Herculândia, in the west of the state, were removed from circulation.

On that occasion, samples were collected for diagnosis from the seedlings, where the presence of the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, which causes Greening, was confirmed by the Agricultural Defense Coordination. The presence of Xanthomonas citri supbs was also identified. citri, bacteria that causes Citrus Canker.

“Agricultural Defense actions are important to remove this type of material from circulation, but it is essential that the population understands that acquiring seedlings that were produced without phytosanitary monitoring puts the entire citrus industry in São Paulo at risk”, says Marlon Peres da Silva, agronomist and director of the Plant Health Defense Center (CDSV).

The legislation in force establishes plant health protection measures to curb the street trading of seedlings in São Paulo due to the serious economic damage to commercial crops and orchards that the practice causes.