Brazil: Fundecitrus launched Guide to help citrus grower to test products autonomously

Fundecitrus launches the "Guide for the Citrus Grower: evaluation of products to reduce damage caused by greening". This is another support material that gathers suggestions for an accurate evaluation in the orchard, allowing the citrus grower himself and the technicians of the sector to analyze the effectiveness of chemical products and treatments available in the market to reduce the damage caused by the disease, contributing to the adequate and efficient control of plants with the disease.

Greening is considered the most destructive disease in the world's citrus industry and has no cure. With the growth of the disease in some regions of the citrus belt, new products and treatments appear daily that promise to reduce the severity of symptoms and maintain or increase the production of diseased plants. As a result, citrus growers who have a high incidence of greening in their orchard are confused about which product to use and how to have reliable results and not waste their resources on treatments that do not solve the problem. This material answers these and other questions, offering subsidies for the citrus grower to evaluate products and make the correct management of the disease.

According to Fundecitrus researcher Renato Bassanezi, one of the authors of the guide, the material gathers important suggestions and, following the recommendations, the citrus grower will be able to make his own decisions based on concrete data on the real effectiveness of the product or treatment tested in reducing the damage caused by greening. "These actions can prevent additional damage with the use of treatments with no effect on the disease. In addition, the results may contribute to the direction of Fundecitrus research and the development of more detailed experiments on treatments that show promising results," says Bassanezi.

Fundecitrus has been working intensively on the evaluation of the efficacy of products and treatments to reduce the damage caused by greening. However, the complexity of the disease makes it difficult to generate consistent results in the short term, as the correct and scientifically based evaluation requires more than one crop and/or experimental area.

Fundecitrus researchers Franklin Behlau and Geraldo Silva Junior, as well as Eduardo Gorayeb, a postdoctoral fellow at the institution, also participated in the preparation of the guide.

The guide is aimed at citrus growers, researchers and professionals who work in citrus farming and is available free of charge on the Fundecitrus website: https://www.fundecitrus.com.br/comunicacao/manual_detalhes/guia-para-o-citricultor-avaliacao-de-produtos-para-reducao-de-danos-causados-pelo-greening/112.