Greening: Paraná eradicated more than 200 thousand plants in the Northwest

In a new stage of combating the most serious citrus disease, the task force against greening, 'Big Citros Umuarama', inspected approximately 180 properties and eradicated more than 200 thousand infected plants in the Northwest of Paraná, the main producing region of the State.

The operation was carried out in November 2024 and involved 30 employees from the Paraná Agricultural Defense Agency (Adapar), covering the municipalities of Altônia, Cruzeiro do Oeste, Maria Helena, Iporã, São Jorge do Patrocínio, Perobal, Cafezal do Sul and Umuarama.

The task force worked on two fronts: registering new production areas and investigating reports of diseased citrus plants. The task force promoted awareness-raising, monitoring and reinforcing measures to prevent and control greening in the Northwest region.

The operation resulted in the eradication of around 220 infected citrus plants on 22 properties, with the support of teams from the production sector, according to data from the Plant Health Department (DESV) of Adapar.

According to the department, eradicating these greening host plants in areas neighboring the production sector is of great importance. “These plants are infected with the disease and are a constant source of inoculum for the bacteria and the vector, the so-called citrus psyllid, making control within the orchards very difficult,” explains Renato Blood, head of the Plant Health Department at Adapar. 

Of the 89 reports of properties with symptoms of the disease, 8 were considered unfounded. Among the valid reports, 11 producers were notified to present the HLB Control Management Plan, and 35 were notified to eradicate the diseased plants within 20 days.

In addition, the department's data indicate the identification of 117 new citrus production areas for registration in the Plant Health Defense System (SDSV). Of this total, 104 properties have already been registered. In 9 properties, the producers were not present at the time of the visit, and another 13 were not inspected due to weather conditions or time constraints.

According to the head of the Fruit Pest Surveillance and Prevention division at Adapar, Paulo Jorge Pazin Marques, cooperation with producers was essential for the effectiveness of the operation. “It is important to highlight that the vast majority of producers inspected in this operation had already met Adapar’s requirements for eliminating symptomatic plants, which demonstrates the success of this operation.” 

For the head of the pest surveillance division in fruit farming, the operation reinforces the effective and responsible advancement of citrus farming in the region. “This operation will provide safe and sustainable development of citrus farming throughout the North and Northwest of Paraná,” reinforces Marques.

In the coming months, Adapar will return to these inspected locations to ensure that the measures have been applied to these properties.