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23 Sep 2020
Citrus
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Citrus industry negotiates a new trade deal

Cape Town – After eleven years of negotiations, South Africa’s citrus industry has been given the go-ahead to export to the Philippines, with the signing of a work plan between the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, and the Philippines Bureau of Plant and Industry.

Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza made the announcement yesterday as the South African citrus industry estimates that close to 500 000 tons of additional citrus would be available for export by 2024.

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23 Sep 2020
Coldling Moth
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South Africa takes proactive FCM measures with its EU citrus exports

For the first time since 2018 when the South African citrus industry introduced its False Codling Moth Management System, the citrus industry has had to intervene in its normal functioning to manage false codling moth.

The decision to strengthen the shipping protocol for South Africa’s oranges for the rest of the season, on very short notice, is made possible by the agility of its systems approach, says Deon Joubert, Citrus Growers’ Association envoy to the EU. The system’s requirements for continuous, thorough orchard and fruit monitoring had made it clear to the industry that there was a lot of false codling moth activity this year.

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26 Aug 2020
Organic blood oranges from Agrofair in Italy
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There is room for growth on the organic citrus market

The organic citrus market is in full swing. Besides the superpower in this market, Spain, importers are now finding their way only too well to countries such as Greece, Italy, and South Africa.

“We specifically chose Italy for the import of our organic citrus,” says Martin Pietersma from Agrofair. This company, based in Barendrecht, the Netherlands, imports, among other products, organic blood oranges from Sicily. “There are, naturally, other countries besides Italy where this product is available, such as Greece and, of course, Spain.”

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29 Jun 2020
Cover Crops
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Can cover crops save Florida’s citrus?

Citrus greening has devastated the Sunshine State’s orange industry. Researchers and pioneering farmers see cover crops as a road to recovery.

For the last couple of decades, a tiny insect called the Asian citrus psyllid has fed on the stems and leaves of the orange trees in Florida, infecting them with bacteria that cause a lethal disease called citrus greening. The bacterial disease, huanglongbing (HLB), originated in China and has destroyed 90 percent of the state’s groves, devastating its $9 billion citrus industry.

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26 May 2020
Distribution of Liberibacter
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HLB now in Kenya: Preparations to mitigate its impact on the Southern African citrus industry.

The presence of Diaphorina citri (Asian citrus psyllid, or ACP), the primary vector of the dreaded Huanglongbing disease (HLB, or Asian Citrus Greening), was first reported in east Africa in Tanzania (2015) and Kenya (2016). Surveys that CRI conducted in collaboration with local scientists, confirmed the presence of ACP in the eastern regions of Tanzania. Recently HLB, previously known to occur in some parts of Ethiopia, was detected on the east coast of Kenya (Fig. 1). The recent detection of HLB in Kenya brings it considerably closer to citrus production in Southern Africa. CRI has engaged in a process with Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) to encourage Kenyan partners to scope the possibility of containing and eradicating the disease in the region.

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26 May 2020
Citrus Export Covid-19
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Strong demand for SA citrus at start of 2020 export season

A strong increase in global demand for citrus has so far been evident in the 2020 export season, according to Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa.

In a statement, Chadwick said increased global demand for lemons had resulted in 4,5 million 15kg-equivalent cartons being shipped to date. This was double the 1,8 million cartons exported during the same period in 2019.

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27 Mar 2020
Koppert Studies
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Spain: Koppert studies efficacy of beneficial fungus for the biological control of HLB

Beneficial microorganisms are becoming increasingly important in the biological control of citrus pests, as a complement to the release of auxiliary insects. Proof of this is the research carried out by Koppert Spain, which aims to confirm the efficacy of an entomopathogenic fungus that could help control Trioza erytreae, one of the insects that transmits huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening. “Koppert’s objective is to develop a biological solution that may be available to producers if the insect that transmits the HLB arrived in Spain,” said Javier Calvo, researching entomologist at Koppert, in the framework of a Citrus Technical Conference held in El Rompido (province of Huelva) and Palma del Río (province of Cordoba).

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