Expanded edition of Mega Citros em Campanha (MG) will cover coffee and other fruit crops

The Minas Gerais Agricultural Research Corporation (Epamig) and the Rural Producers Union of Campanha (MG) are promoting another edition of Mega Citros from September 26 to 28. This year, the event, which will take place at the Campanha Country Club, will have an expanded program that, in addition to discussions on citrus farming, will also include coffee farming, winemaking, and the cultivation of pitaya and avocado.

“We will have one day dedicated to coffee growing (27) and another to fruit growing (28). This is to meet the demand of local producers, who expressed interest in these topics to the Rural Union, which is organizing the event with us,” explains Epamig researcher Ester Ferreira. It is worth noting that the cultivation of citrus fruits, especially tangerines, is strong in the region, but has been greatly affected by the incidence of Greening, a bacterial disease for which there is no cure.

“The production of southern Minas Gerais is experiencing a historic and decisive moment as a result of Greening. Despite all the efforts to contain this disease, considered the greatest challenge for global citrus farming, there has been a major advance in recent years, with the contamination of many groves in the region. In view of this, citrus growers are looking for alternatives for diversification and we are extending the event with technical lectures on other crops”, adds the researcher.

Another new feature of this edition is the mini-courses that will take place simultaneously with the technical lectures. Two of them, on Thursday (26), will be taught by professionals from Epamig: “Notions for differentiating traditional, gourmet and special coffees”, with post-doctoral fellow Maísa Mancini, at 13 pm, and “Basic notions for wine tasting”, with oenologist Filipe Goethe, at 15 pm. Places are limited.

“The event maintains the format of a fair with several stands of products, supplies and machinery with the aim of providing an environment of interaction, business opportunities and, above all, a lot of knowledge”, assures Ester Ferreira.

Agenda

The activities will begin on Thursday, September 26, with a focus on citrus farming. Lectures will begin at 8:30 a.m. with topics such as the selection of seedlings and the control of psyllid, the vector of greening. Epamig researcher Ester Ferreira will speak about “New horizons for agribusiness in southern Minas Gerais: citrus, coffee and fruits.”

On Friday, the 27th, the topic will be coffee farming. The lectures will cover topics such as coffee farming 5.0, regenerative coffee farming, carbon market, irrigation, pest and disease management, and specialty coffees. Epamig researchers Vinícius Andrade and Denis Nadaleti will speak, respectively, about “Determining factors for productivity in coffee farming” and “Techniques for producing specialty coffees”.

The program ends on the morning of Saturday, September 28, with lectures on fruit growing. Epamig Itap professor Fábio Silva will present the topic “Feasibility of growing pitaya in the south of Minas Gerais”. Pedro Peche, a professor from the Department of Agriculture at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), will speak about “Modern cultivation of avocado trees”, and Epamig researcher Francisco Câmara will talk about “Implementation and initial care of the vineyard”.