Faced with a plague that threatens citrus plantations in Cesar, the ICA trained growers

The Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) carried out agricultural extension activity aimed at small peasant producers in the El Aluminio and Mandinguilla villages, in the municipality of Chimichagua, Cesar, focused on the recognition, management and control of Diaphorina Citri, vector of HLB disease of citrus.

“This disease known as Huanglongbing, HLB of Citrus (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus), is one of the most devastating of citrus crops worldwide, which records losses of up to 60% in crops. In the department of Cesar, Chimichagua is currently the most important area for citrus cultivation and, in the presence of this disease, all the containment measures established in resolution No. 1668 of February 22, 2019 must be implemented,” expressed Ernesto López Sánchez, sectional manager of the ICA in Cesar.

The activities carried out were focused on training small farmers in the area in continuous monitoring of crops, field recognition of the vector Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, as well as integrated management of the insect (control methods) and identification of symptoms associated with the disease, whose purpose is the establishment of external epidemiological sensors that provide timely information for the implementation of containment measures in the presence of both the vector and the disease.

In Chimichagua, Cesar, approximately 1,200 hectares of citrus crops (Valencia orange, Creole lemon, grapefruit, etc.) are established, with more than 700 small and medium-sized peasant economy producers, who derive their livelihood from this economic activity, reason Therefore, interaction with these communities is a priority of the Institute.

The sectional manager also expressed that there has been evidence of an advance of the disease and an imminent risk for the production and marketing of citrus fruits in this area of ​​the department of Cesar, which is why agricultural extension work is necessary, aimed at implementing prevention measures. of HLB of citrus fruits and control of the insect vector of the same (Diaphorina citri), in order to apply and reinforce the necessary action measures to mitigate its dispersion.

The ICA, through Resolution 1668 of February 22, 2019, declared the disease as an official control pest and established phytosanitary measures for its control, especially because there are currently no effective methods that prevent the plant from getting sick after becoming infected with the bacteria. and because it can spread quickly without being diagnosed, since it is not easy to detect in its initial infective states and can express symptoms late (approximately between six and twenty-four months).

The ICA is responsible for managing plant health, for which it adopts the actions and provisions that are necessary for the prevention, eradication, or management of diseases, pests, weeds or any other harmful organism that affects plants and their products. , acting in permanent harmony with the protection and preservation of natural resources, through agricultural extension actions, aimed at improving the phytosanitary situation of the citrus species in the department of Cesar.

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