A natural repellent removed from the guava leaf may be the solution to control citrus greening, considered one of the worst diseases of citriculture in Brazil and in the world. The product is being developed in a partnership between the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) and the Fund for Citrus Protection (Fundecitrus), and it should start to be tested in the groves soon.

The disease is caused by a bacterium that is transmitted by an insect vector, the psyllid. Because it is too small and difficult to identify, it easily enters the groves. If the plant is infected, it has to be eliminated. And because of that, the group of researchers began to investigate natural pesticides capable of repelling the psyllid and attract them to another area, without harming the environment and human health.

They discovered a molecule in the guava leaf that has this attribute. “Our research looked for natural volatile compounds, which are the odors. Our strategy is to use these compounds to repel the insect from the grove to another area, where we can apply pesticides in a more rational way, and also to avoid contaminating the environment,” explained Fundecitrus researcher Mr. Rodrigo Facchini Magnani.

The research in laboratory has already been completed. The next step includes studying the effectiveness of this repellent in the field. “To check if it really works as a repellent and then incorporate it into citrus greening management,” said Mr. Magnani.

The latest Fundecitrus data showed that 16.73% of the groves in the state of São Paulo were affected by the disease last year, with around 32 million infected trees.

The pathway to sustainable citrus growing goes through improvements in the tools to manage the orchard in order to maintain its health, in synch with new, latest innovation in production trends, with efficient use of natural resources and which are less impacting on the environment. Aware of such demand, Fundecitrus has looked in all its lines of research for new ways of helping citrus growers to maintain their orchards producing with cost efficiency and not adversely affecting the environment.

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AND PHEROMONE

Fundecitrus approach concerning that strategy started in 1996, when a big surge of citrus fruit borer – a moth whose caterpillar penetrates the fruit and may cause significant crop losses – led the research to look for alternatives that could inhibit the advance of that pest. Researchers studied the insect’s habits, described its life cycle and were able to isolate its sex pheromone. The effort resulted in a trap, available to citrus growers since 2001, which is a low-cost, high-efficiency tool to monitor the fruit borer. A recent study by the “Luiz de Queiroz” Agricultural College (Esalq/USP) reported that the use of such trap prevented losses from US$132.7 million to 1.32 billion from November 2001 to 2013.

Also in 1996, another pest – the citrus leafminer – started causing serious problems to citrus growing due to its influence on the severity of citrus canker. Keeping up with its search for low-cost and low environmental impact tools, Fundecitrus oriented its efforts towards a fast and efficient solution. Studies were conducted regarding the feasibility of importing Ageniaspis citricola wasp, a leafminer parasitoid, from the US. By mid 1998 the first lot of this parasitoid, arrived in Brazil. After the quarantine procedure, the little wasps were reared in large scale and released in 200 orchards from 60 municipalities of Sao Paulo State. Tamarixia radiata, a natural enemy of the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri), vector of the bacteria associated with HLB (huanglongbing/greening), is the newest sustainable tool used by Fundecitrus to fight against the world’s main citrus disease. The little wasp uses the psyllid nymphs to reproduce, by laying its eggs below them, so that later, it will become food to the larvae when they eventually hatch. In May 2015, Fundecitrus started its biofactory in Araraquara-SP. The T.radiata production of this lab is around 100.000 wasps per month, which are released at locations such as backyard or abandoned orchards, rural and urban areas. The goal is to reduce the psyllid population at their breeding grounds in a sustainable manner to avoid their migration to orange orchards.

A research developed by Professor Jose Postali Parra’s team, from Esalq/ USP, with Fundecitrus support, showed that in areas where Tamarixia radiata was released, there was an average reduction of 70% in the psyllid population, reaching peaks higher than 90%.

NATURAL INSECTICIDES

Insecticides with natural compounds are another sustainable-control alternative. In this respect, Fundecitrus is developing a bioinsecticide and a botanical insecticide to control the psyllid. The bioinsecticide is based on an entomopathogenic fungus (which causes disease to insects). After four years of research developed in partnership with Esalq/USP and Koppert, the product is being field tested, with initial results showing 80% efficiency in controlling the psyllid. The botanical insecticide, developed in association with Embrapa Acre, is an essential oil extracted from a plant known as spiked pepper. This plant produces a compound named dillapiol and has shown, in lab tests, to have good potential to control the psyllid.
With the arrival of HLB in Sao Paulo, in 2004, citrus growers saw their costs soar with sprayings. Also, at that time, Fundecitrus started its research on the technology application against the psyllid, aiming to reduce up to 70% of insecticide and water for this pest control. Additionally, the institution has maintained for several years a team dedicated to training growers and visit citrus farms to teach them how to correctly adjust spraying equipment to avoid waste.

SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

The trend is that the citrus industry will increasingly use technological innovations in the future, with focus on sustainability, and wiser, cheaper, and more natural strategies, such as pheromones, to help both: to monitor the insects and to attract and kill them. Another strategy is the study of repellence by odors or physical pest control. As a long-term strategy, researchers are also searching for plants – either citrus or other crops which may be inter-planted with orange trees – that are disease-resistant or pest-repellent.
“No matter the pathway to be taken, all Fundecitrus researches are earmarked for improving citrus growing with increasingly more natural and intelligent measures”, affirms the institution’s manager, Juliano Ayres.

Click here  to access the entire issue.

]]> http://sustainablejuice.com/2017/02/citrus-growing-in-times-of-sustainability/feed/ 0 http://sustainablejuice.com/2017/01/sustainable-intensification-is-a-reality-in-brazilian-agribusiness/ http://sustainablejuice.com/2017/01/sustainable-intensification-is-a-reality-in-brazilian-agribusiness/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2017 20:04:52 +0000 http://sustainablejuice.com/?p=456

The November issue of the Globo Rural magazine, one of the main Brazilian publication on agribusiness has an article written by the president of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, EMBRAPA, Mr. Mauricio Antônio Lopes. He is the head of the country’s leading agricultural research institution and one of the most respected in the world, and he wrote an analysis on the Brazilian agricultural model and the need to produce food in an environmentally sustainable way. See the full article below.

By Mauricio Lopes, EMBRAPA’s president:

Brazil is the only country in the tropical belt of the globe that was able to conquer the position of agricultural power. Management technologies have transformed poor soils into fertile land. The tropicalization of the crops, with different cycles, allowed to take advantage of lands in all climatic conditions. The sustainable management and practices we develop constitute an arsenal of environmental defense. With their entrepreneurial dynamism, the producers knew how to combine this knowledge and take advantage of market opportunities.

However, the tropical condition has its burdens. Such efficiency in food production is constantly put to the test by all sorts of stresses. With the same strength, which makes the plants sprout, the abundance of sun and humidity welcome and multiply diseases and pests. The new requirements of the Brazilian Forest Code and climate change impose limitations on the expansion of the production area and cost increase.

That’s why the term “sustainable intensification” gains more and more visibility. Producing more intensively and resiliently has become a must for Brazil and it demands technological sophistication that increases the efficient use of environmental resources – especially water, soil and biodiversity – and ensures adequate ecosystem services, such as waste recycling, water replenishment, air improvement, among others.

Brazil draws the attention of the world to the potential of intensifying its agriculture. A large extension of our agricultural areas can be used safely 365 days a year, producing in the same space, grains, animal protein, fiber, bioenergy and, in the near future, renewable biomass chemicals. EMBRAPA, supported by a network of public and private partners, invests in intensification based on low-carbon, “resource-saving” technologies and gains in land productivity, in line with the new Forest Code and the new consumption pattern defined by a society increasingly engaged in environmental causes.

The ABC Plan – “Low-Carbon Emissions Agriculture” is a bold public policy based on the results of Brazilian agricultural research and aligned with the global response to climate change. It aims to expand the recovery of degraded pastures, integrated crop-livestock-forestry (ICLF), no-tillage system (NTS), biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), planted forests and treatment of animal waste.

Extensive research conducted at national level pointed to an area of ICLF systems adoption in Brazil that reaches the expressive mark of 11.5 million hectares, representing an important part of the Brazilian response to mitigation and adaptation to the world’s climate change. This result is part of the tough strategy of tackling climate change by the Brazilian agriculture, which advances in the consolidation of the adaptive capacity of its agricultural systems, backed by the knowledge management and technological innovation, by the strong emphasis on technology transfer through public-private partnerships, and sustained in the vision and entrepreneurship of our farmers, who perceive and respond in time of fast changes in which we live on.

The article is also available in Portuguese at EMBRAPA’s website
https://www.embrapa.br/busca-de-noticias/-/noticia/18530376/artigo—intensificacao-sustentavel-e-realidade-no-agro-brasileiro

The TV report explains how the integrated system works and points out that bees help in pollinating groves, which has helped to raise orange tree productivity by 35%. In addition, the presence of bees helps increasing the weight and number of seeds in the fruit.

Check the video below with the whole feature: