See a new, sustainable approach to dealing with citrus canker from the research of plant pathologist Franklin Behlau.
The most common treatment for citrus canker, a bacterial disease that causes lesions on citrus fruit, is spraying copper, according to a Citrus Industry article. However, that method uses a lot of water and copper. Franklin Behlau, a plant pathologist and researcher with Fundecitrus, shared the results of field trial research that successfully used less water and copper to treat canker. See the details below.
Economical and Sustainable Treatment for Citrus Canker
Behlau’s research studied adjusting spraying based on the volume of each citrus tree. “By adjusting both copper and water usage based on the volume of the citrus trees without affecting the quality of disease control, we have taken an important step to a more economically and environmentally sustainable citrus industry,” Behlau said in the article.
Researchers spent two years in field trials identifying the minimum copper deposition on the treated surface of the citrus trees per spray that is needed to protect against citrus canker. “By using the most efficient treatments identified in our study, growers can save up 80% in the amount of copper and up to 60% in the volume of water used annually to manage citrus canker. By using less active ingredient, growers can prevent accumulation of copper in the soil and reduce the long-term effects that it may have on the development of the root system and the tree canopy,” Behlau shared in the article.
Find Behlau’s research in the January 2021 issue of Plant Disease.
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