Area of ​​abandoned orchards decreases in the citrus park

The area of ​​abandoned orange orchards decreased in the citrus park of São Paulo and Triângulo/Southwest Mineiro, from 4.401 hectares in 2018 to 2.765 hectares in 2019 – around 80% of them are located in the regions of Limeira, Brotas, Votuporanga, Matão and Drinking fountain. The data is from the Fundecitrus Tree Inventory.

Abandoned orchards are harmful to citrus farming because, as they do not receive the recommended chemical control, they become a place for the development of pests such as the psyllid, the insect that transmits greening, which can travel long distances, migrate to commercial orchards and contaminate healthy plants, spreading the disease.

To reduce the number of abandoned orchards in the citrus park, Fundecitrus has worked in partnership with citrus growers and citrus companies to raise awareness among the population about the threat that greening, the worst citrus disease, represents for the sector. Greening has no cure and contaminated plants lose productivity and, as they are sources of the bacteria, need to be eliminated.