The citrus industry in the downtown area of Tamaulipas was put at risk by the presence of pests such as the fruit fly, exotic flies, the tristeza virus, and the red spider. As a result, producers work hard to keep them at bay and to prevent the Yellow Dragon disease.
"Every year, as part of the campaign against the fruit fly, Tamaulipas releases 40 million sterile flies. In addition, Tamaulipas also has a laboratory to produce wasps to fight the aphid that transmits the Yellow Dragon disease," said the head of the Department of Plant Protection of SAGARPA, Humberto Vazquez Ramirez.
One of the goals is to prevent the Huanglongbing disease, better known as the Yellow Dragon or citrus greening disease, from arriving to the state, which is why prevention programs will be reinforced this year.
Maintaining the states' low prevalence status guarantees they can market 650,000 tons of citrus fruits worth 800 million pesos.
Vazquez Ramirez said that, despite the attack of some pests, producers expected to harvest more than 450,000 tons of orange, 45,000 tons of lime, 100,000 tons of grapefruit and the remaining of mandarin.
Source: expreso.press