Cold weather boosts tangerine harvest in Rio Grande do Sul

With the arrival of cold weather, the tangerine harvest began in Rio Grande do Sul - a fruit known regionally as bergamot. Emater/RS expects the state to harvest around 450 thousand tons of tangerines, oranges and lemons, an increase of 15,4% compared to the last harvest, which was damaged by heavy rains in May 2024.

More than 10 families in Rio Grande do Sul are involved in citrus production, which occupies 25 hectares in the state. On May 23, the municipality of Montenegro, in Vale do Caí, hosted the 25th State Opening of the Citrus Harvest, an event that officially marks the beginning of the harvest.

Among the varieties produced, the Montenegrin Bergamot stands out for its sweet flavor and characteristic aroma. Discovered in the 1940s by a local farmer, the variety accounts for 33% of the state's citrus production. In Montenegro alone, the forecast is to harvest 60 thousand tons of the fruit, in addition to 5,5 thousand tons of oranges and 400 tons of lemons.

According to Luisa Leupolt Campos, a rural extension agent at Emater/RS, the cold weather favors the color and flavor of citrus fruits. “The crop benefits from the thermal amplitude and a minimum number of hours of cold,” she explains. Even so, she warns about the risks of diseases and pests in very humid periods, such as Greening (HLB), a bacterial disease transmitted by the Asian psyllid that severely affects orchards.

To mitigate these risks, Emater recommends the use of cover crops, which help to conserve soil, control pests, reduce inputs and improve fertility. Practices such as soil correction, the installation of irrigation systems and the construction of micro-dams are also encouraged, which contribute to the sustainability of the activity.

Tangerines are a strong presence in the daily lives of the people of Rio Grande do Sul, consumed fresh or in typical regional recipes. The appreciation of local production reinforces the tradition passed down through generations and boosts the economy of producing municipalities such as Montenegro.