Combating Greening: inspection report reaches the best rate in the last 20 years in São Paulo

The Department of Agriculture and Supply, through the Agricultural Defense Coordination (CDA), informs that the State of São Paulo reached the target of 100% of inspection reports delivered, a record never achieved. The delivery of the Cancro/HLB (greening) report came to an end on January 15th and according to data from the computerized Animal and Plant Management system (Gedave), at the time, 96,6% of the citrus sector managed to meet the delivery deadline of the document that reported the inspections carried out between July 1st and December 31st, 2023.

“Aiming at the health of the citrus sector, from January onwards, the Agricultural Defense began to contact defaulters to regularize their situations, making it possible to know the real situation of these orchards and so that citrus cultivation in the State of São Paulo continues to be a national reference ”, says Adão Marin, agronomist and director of the Center for Plant Health Defense (CDSV).

“Properties that submitted a report after January 15th will be drawn and will have on-site inspection to check appropriate management”, adds the director.

After actively searching for producers who had not submitted the report, the number of inspected plants, which previously was 214,9 million, increased to 219,8 million. Furthermore, the numbers indicate that 10.398 reports were delivered and 2,3 million plants with symptoms of the disease were eradicated.

With the publication of Ordinance Mapa nº 317, of May 21, 2021, which establishes the National HLB Prevention and Control Program (PNCHLB), the elimination of symptomatic plants became mandatory only for orchards under eight years of age, and for orchards above this age, producers are only required to carry out efficient psyllid control. In the State of São Paulo, delivery of the report is mandatory for all producers, regardless of the age of the plants and delivery for the 1st half of 2024 begins this Tuesday, April 2nd.

Citrus canker

Citrus canker is caused by the bacteria Xanthomonas citri pv. citri that attacks all varieties and species of citrus, causes lesions on leaves, fruits and branches and, when in high incidence, causes defoliation and fruit fall. It is a restrictive pest for the commercialization of fruits to other States and also for export.

Since 2017, with the publication of Resolution of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) nº 4, of March 22, the state of São Paulo has been recognized as an area under the Risk Mitigation System (SMR) for cancer citric. This procedure makes it possible to adopt phytosanitary measures with the aim of reducing the pest's inoculum potential and maintaining an appropriate level of protection against the disease, enabling the sale of symptom-free fruits both on the domestic and international markets.