Cultural practices on citrus orchards for the Huanglongbing management

Abstract

Citrus cultural practices such as planting spacing, pruning and use of canopy and rootstock combinations can affect the primary dispersal of citrus psyllid into the orchard and the primary inoculation of huanglongbing bacteria. The citrus flushing dynamic is directly influenced by these practices which, consequently, have potential use in the management of this disease. This work plan aims to evaluate different citrus cultural practices in the management of HLB and its vector. Disease incidence, vector population, citrus flushing dynamics, and yield will be evaluated in orchards with different planting spacing and direction, timing and type of pruning, and canopy and rootstock combinations with contrasting vegetative vigor. These practices will be evaluated on the border blocks with vector control to contribute to the reduction of the primary HLB infection, which predominates in the managed commercial citrus orchards.