PEST AND DISEASE CONTROL IN CITRICULTURE: STRATEGIES FOR HEALTHY PRODUCTION

Abstract

The article addresses fundamental aspects of Brazilian citriculture, highlighting its historical origin, economic importance, and evolution in recent decades. It focuses especially on the sour lime 'Tahiti', the main commercial variety of lime grown in Brazil, with an emphasis on the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It details the characteristics of this variety and the Rangpur lemon rootstock, widely used for its drought tolerance and rusticity. The text also presents the main pests (such as leaf miner, false rust mite, mealybugs and black aphid) and diseases (HLB/Greening, gummosis, wart, grease spot, rubellosis and coating fungi) that affect citrus, in addition to the symptoms of nutritional deficiencies, such as those caused by lack of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, boron, copper, iron, manganese and zinc. Methods of chemical, biological, and cultural control are proposed to preserve the productivity and quality of national citriculture.