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.

In the countryside of São Paulo, the partnership between beekeepers and citrus growers is profitable for both the production and the environment. Thanks to integrated production, the groves continue to bloom, while the beehives continue to grow and produce even more honey in the reserve areas. At the other end, more effective green alternatives for grove management emerge. More than generating income and employment, citriculture has been helping in the sustainable development of Brazilian agribusiness, check out in the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkWiwJ825kA&feature=youtu.be

Partnerships between companies and public and private institutions have proven to be a good strategy for actions aimed at improving sustainability in a given sector. It’s no different with citriculture. In Brazil, Fundecitrus, a research organization maintained in partnership with citrus growers and industry, has signed an agreement with the chemical company Arysta to strengthen the inspection of sprayers used on citrus farms. The initiative is an extension of the Aplique Bem Program, which also involves Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC), an agency linked to the Secretariat of Agriculture of the State of São Paulo. The action’s idea is to multiply best practices such as the correct application of agrochemicals and the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on farms.

Fundecitrus will select small, medium and large producers and the Aplique Bem Program will evaluate the spraying equipment in these properties. The partnership aims to validate the evaluation method for turbo-sprayers. Similar work is already being developed for the validation of the method for sprayers on bars of sugarcane crops.

According to Hamilton Ramos, IAC’s scientific researcher, effective spraying is only possible with the combination of three factors: good sprayers, good regulation and operation by a trained professional. “In 10 years of implementation, Aplique Bem has been emphasizing on regulation and training, working to improve the quality of spraying. Now with the approval of ISO 16122, it’s also possible to evaluate the quality of the sprayer, based on the analysis of the quality of these equipment in use in Brazilian agriculture,” said Ramos.

The Arysta and Fundecitrus’ partnership seeks to validate the method of analysis and the creation and validation of a database to analyze the quality of sprayers in use in the citrus farms in the state of São Paulo, based on international norms. In the first stage of the project, there will be an evaluation of at least 20 turbo-sprayers. “Once the evaluation method and the database have been developed, Aplique Bem can not only improve its service to farmers, but also know the main problems encountered,” explains Arysta LifeScience’s stewardship expert, Ms. Cláudia Barros.

In this sense, the partner will also guide farmers in choosing this equipment for different types of crops. “There is great demand for information from farmers who are looking for assistance to choose the right equipment for citrus management and cultivation. Our intention is to identify the main problems, risks and difficulties in the field, helping farmers in the correct application of theinputs in a more efficient and secure way,“ explained Mr. Marcelo Scapin, a scientific researcher at Fundecitrus.

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/2017/02/preserved-native-vegetation-covers-61-of-brazil-says-embrapa/ http://sustainablejuice.com/2017/02/preserved-native-vegetation-covers-61-of-brazil-says-embrapa/#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2017 15:46:25 +0000 http://sustainablejuice.com/?p=480 A study from the Strategic Territorial Intelligence Group (GITE, in Portuguese) of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA, in Portuguese) found out that the preserved native vegetation covers 61% of the entire Brazilian territory.  According to the group coordinator, Mr. Evaristo Miranda, from the 850,280,588 hectares that make up the Brazilian territory, 11% of native vegetation areas are in rural properties, such as legal reserves (LR) and permanent preservation areas (APPs, in Portuguese). Another 17% of native vegetation are in conservation units. Now, 13% of native vegetation are in indigenous lands and 20% in vacant lands, relief, inland waters etc., which amounts to 61%.

These data, according to GITE coordinator, was updated at the end of last year by EMBRAPA, based on information from the institution itself, from other public agencies and private initiatives, such as: The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA), the Ministry of Environment, the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), the National Water Agency of Brazil (ANA) and the Ministry of Planning, Development and Management (MPOG).

The other 39% of the Brazilian territory, according to EMBRAPA’s survey, are distributed among the areas occupied by 8% of crops and planted forests; 19.7% of pastures, and 11.3% of cities, macro-logistics, infrastructure, energy, mining and others.

“In these 8% of cultivated areas are all the sugar cane, reforestation, grains, citriculture, in other words, everything that we plant. This size of agriculture, that worries the world and that does a lot of stuff covers only 8% of the Brazilian territory”, the researcher highlighted.

The researcher explains that when added to the area of agriculture and livestock, and also the areas of preserved native vegetation within rural land, the rural properties represent a total of 38.7% of the national territory.

Mr. Miranda also recalled that Brazilian farmers work based on one of the most stringent and restrictive environmental laws in the world and he cited, for example, the riverbanks, which in Brazilian legislation are defined as APPs, where cultivation is prohibited.

“This is something that EMBRAPA did when the Forest Code was still being discussed. In El Salvador, the riverbank areas are totally occupied by small and large producers. In Costa Rica everything is occupied with crops and bananas. In Mexico, on the banks of the Papaloapan river, the areas are fully cultivated. They are alluvial deposits. The river side is the best place there is to plant. Civilization developed by cultivating alongside the rivers. It’s how it is in Chile, Argentina, China, Senegal and developed countries as well, along the Rhône river in France; on the Rhine, in Germany; the Po Valley in Italy; the Quadalquivir river, in Spain; the Tagus, in Portugal; the Danube, in Austria and the Lower Rhine in the Netherlands, among others. Brazil, however, preserves, and has to preserve the riverbanks by law. I am not speaking against or defending Brazilian legislation, I am only showing how the Brazilian law is and comparing it with other countries”, he said.

The coordinator of the GITE also stressed that with the new Forest Code, the producer will have to restore many areas. Estimates, according to him, are that from the 8% of the Brazilian territory that is currently used for agriculture, between 35 million hectares and 95 million hectares will be used to restore APPs and LRs.

During the 2012-2013 and 2013- 2014 seasons, the researchers assessed several volumes of spray and copper rates to control citrus canker on trees of sweet orange “Valencia” planted in 2006, with an average canopy volume of 49 m³. Spray volumes were defined based on the tree canopy size, aiming to reduce waste of resources and production costs.

Volumes of 150, 100, 70, and 40 mL of spray mixture/m³ of canopy were tested during two seasons. The last two volumes were also assessed with adjustment of the copper rate. The study assessed the incidence of leaves and fruits with symptoms, premature fruit drop, yield, copper deposits on the leaves, spray coverage and the cost-benefit ratio.

In the first year, the copper-treated plants – regardless of the volume and copper adjustment – showed at the most 5% of occurrence of diseased leaves. Whereas non-sprayed trees showed a peak of 30% of leaves with citrus canker.

In the second year, results were similar to those in the first year, except for the 40 mL/m³ volume with no rate adjustment, which reached 10% of symptomatic leaves, between November and January, when tree flushing coincides with the occurrence of rains.

According to researchers, the lower protection of that treatment was caused by the reduction of product deposits on the tree. In this case, when the rate was adjusted, control was reestablished, showing that the 40 mL volume may be efficient, since the metallic copper rate is adjusted.

“The results show that spray volumes may be safely used by citrus growers. Lower spray volumes and copper rates may affect such control and are still being studied.”, affirms researcher Franklin Behlau.

With this method, citrus growers would save US$ 1.5 in one application, on a 100-hectare area, for example.

Equipment adjustments are required to use reduced volumes of spray, among which the use of spray nozzles that produce fine droplets (150 µm). The sprayer speed must not exceed 5.5 km/h, with a minimum coverage of 30% on the leaves inside the canopy.

According to Fundecitrus researcher Marcelo da Silva Scapin: “The adequacy of application volumes allows savings and reduction of the environmental impact, in addition to increasing the operating efficiency of the equipment”, he affirms.

As an example, if the reduction proposed by the research were applied to the Sao Paulo State citrus belt, which is currently estimated at 462 thousand hectares, if carrying out six applications per crop year, there would be savings of 6.2 billion liters of water, enough to supply the whole city of Sao Paulo for 5 days, or the equivalent to 56 million people for one day. The cost reduction for the whole citrus belt would reach US$ 40 million a year in expenses with equipment, product and labor.

To see the entire publication, please click here.

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 22^nd World Climate Conference (COP 22), held in November in Morocco, ended with the signing of the Marrakech Action Proclamation, a statement on what the State Parties consider a priority to try to contain global warming in the coming years. “The climate is warming at an alarming and unprecedented rate and we have a duty to respond urgently to the problem”, says the document published by the Ministry of Environment, which makes an assessment of the Brazilian participation in the event.

According to the document, the Brazilian government has evaluated COP22 as a “starting point”, whose focus is the definition of the so-called “rulebook” for the implementation of the obligations assumed under the Agreement. Brazil participated in the COP with a wide and diversified delegation, including representatives from different scopes of Government, academia, private entities and non-governmental organizations. There were 271 Brazilian delegates in Marrakech, of which 87 connected to the Government and 184 from civil society.

The report also outlines the position adopted by the Brazilian representatives at the Conference, such as the view that the Paris Agreement is irreversible and that the work needs to be speeded up to implement it. It also points out to the need, discussed at COP 22, for developed countries to increase their level of funding by defining a “road map” that shows how the $ 100 billion annual target will be achieved by 2020.

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:

The service has been offered for free to citrus growers since 2004, when citrus greening appeared in the groves of São Paulo. It meets the demand of producers who have questions related to the presence or not of the disease in the groves. In addition to HLB, a diagnosis is also made for CVC (citrus variegated chlorosis). In this case, the number of plants assessed was 7.4 thousand, from 2008 to 2016.

“The demand for analyzis today is lower due to the greater knowledge of the symptoms of HLB on the part of the citrus growers and the low index of CVC in the citrus park. But even so, the demand is high because the diagnosis gives certainty about the infection or not of the plant”, says Fundecitrus researcher Mr. Nelson Arno Wulff, responsible for the laboratory.

In 2016, a new device was acquired for the laboratory that provides economy and agility in the diagnostic process and it allows to reduce the analysis time from 30 minutes to 2 and a half minutes. In addition to optimizing the analyzis, the equipment brought savings of 27% in material expenses.

“The laboratory is always looking to deliver faster and faster results, with less reagent use and less waste, following the trend of sustainability-driven diagnostics”, says Wulff.

More information on sample shipment is available at: http://www.fundecitrus.com.br/pesquisa/laboratorio