Public consultation updates the National Citrus HLB Prevention and Control Program

The Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa) submitted to public consultation a proposal for an Ordinance that establishes the National Program for Prevention and Control of the disease called Huanglongbing (HLB) - PNCHLB. The deadline for consultation and presentation of technically substantiated suggestions is 60 days, from the date of publication in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU), on July 19, 2024 (Ordinance SDA/Mapa nº 1.148/2024).

The PNCHLB aims to strengthen the agricultural production system for pest hosts Candidatus Liberibacter americanus e Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, establishing the criteria and procedures for the prevention, containment and control of HLB.

Among the changes suggested in the draft law are new responsibilities for the State Body for Plant Health Defense (OEDSV) of the Federation Unit which, in the case of Goiás, is the Goiana Agricultural Defense Agency (Agrodefesa). According to the proposal, it will be up to the Agency, for example, to provide additional regulations on the PNCHLB, in order to adapt to federal legislation and establish operational procedures for the execution of the program, at the state level, and articulate the involvement of local bodies in the activities related to PNCHLB, delegating powers, among other actions.

Other changes that appear in the new proposal refer to the inclusion of actions related to garden myrtle plants (Murraya paniculata), which is also subject to HLB infection and, consequently, contaminates psyllids, generating new vectors of the disease; and also the exclusion of limiting the age of orchards to be destroyed after contamination (the current PNCHLB requires the elimination of citrus orchards up to the eighth year of planting, allowing the producer to destroy orchards over nine years old).

“It is very important that our rural producers and institutions linked to agriculture in the State also participate with suggestions for improvement so that we can improve our actions to combat and prevent HLB”, reinforces the president of Agrodefesa, José Ricardo Caixeta Ramos.w

The project to be evaluated is available on the Mapa website (www.gov.br/agricultura/pt-br/), Access to Information link, Social Participation menu, Public Consultations submenu. Suggestions must be sent via the Normative Acts Monitoring System (Sisman), of the Agricultural Defense Secretariat, available at https://sistemasweb.agricultura.gov.br/sisman/ (login and password required for access).

Criteria

The criteria for accepting suggestions for changes, inclusion or exclusion in the texts will take into account compliance with legislation, the relevance and positive impact of the contribution to the effectiveness of the Official Pest Prevention and Control Program in question.

“We believe that the proposed adjustments will strengthen the actions that have already been developed in Goiás and other states. HLB is extremely harmful to commercial citrus crops around the world and expanding the work is essential at a time when the disease is already present in a large part of the country”, adds Agrodefesa's Plant Health Manager, Daniela Rézio.

HLB, also known as Greening, is considered the worst citrus disease because it has no treatment and because it spreads at high speed. The disease was detected in Brazil in 2004 and has caused major losses in states such as São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Paraná. It is caused by bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter spp., transmitted by the psyllid diaphorina citri, an insect with a grayish white color and dark spots on the wings. The main symptoms of HLB are mottled and yellowed leaves, defoliation, drought and death of branches. The fruits are deformed, small and asymmetrical, the seeds are aborted, small and malformed and dark in color.