The journey of sustainable citrus farming in agriculture

have not only proven to be successful but also reduced the reliance on chemical pesticides. The path to environmental friendly farming Dedicated to sustainable [...] Get to know Balbino Garre Martínez, a grower with over 35 years of experience in citrus and livestock farming. Balbino, along with his two brothers, operates [...] where agriculture isn't just a profession but a lifelong passion. Adapting to challenges and embracing change Balbino's agricultural journey hasn't been

Two-spotted spider mite

world. Despite their small size, they are capable of very rapidly doing severe damage, due to their great reproductive capacity. There are more than 1200 species [...] many outdoor crops. Damage symptoms Larvae, nymphs and adults cause damage to the host plant by feeding on plant sap. They mainly occur on the underside [...] tomatoes and cucumbers, as little as 30% damage of the leaf surface can lead to loss of the crop. The nymphs and adults also produce webs, and plants can

Citrus

Since citrus originates from these warmer climates they are not frost hardy. Temperatures not falling below −2 °C (28 °F) are required for successful cultivation [...] fruit or grown as an ornamental. It is believed that citrus plants are native to subtropical and tropical regions of Asia and the Malay Archipelago. Some citrus [...] commercial varieties include oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and tangerines and to a lesser extent, tangelos. Oranges account for the greatest value in terms

Cryptobug-L

Pests All stages of many mealybug species. Mode of action Larvae and adults consume the mealybug completely. Visual effect Mealybugs are consumed entirely [...] hulls. Application Deploy material on rock wool slabs, or in Diboxes close to or at a hotspot Can also be applied with Natutec Airobreez, Natutec Mini-Airbug [...] depends on climate, crop and mealybug density and should always be adjusted to the particular situation. Start introduction preventively or as soon as the

Cotton leafworm

Extensive feeding by the larvae may lead to complete stripping and skeletisation of the leaves, whereby all that remains are the bigger veins. Young larvae [...] littoralis) can lay up to 3,000 eggs. Each egg is roughly spherical, about 0.6 mm long and whitish yellow. They are laid in clusters of 20 to 500 pieces on lower [...] covers the eggs with brownish-yellow hairs from her abdomen to make them less conspicuous and to protect them from desiccation. The cotton leafworm (Spodoptera

Towards a chemical-free future in agriculture: The vision of grower Koen

the opportunity to continue the business. While the trend towards organic farming was growing, Koen felt that it would be too quick to completely abandon [...] abandon traditional methods. He decided to find a balance between both approaches. This way of working allows him to gain experience in using biological crop [...] protection . As a result, he acquires a lot of knowledge and is prepared to fully transition to biological crop protection when the government decides that certain

Green peach aphid

sugars, but has a low protein content. Aphids therefore need to extract large quantities of sap to get sufficient protein. The excess sugar is secreted in the [...] summer host plants from more than 40 different families. Damage symptoms Of all the aphids , the peach potato aphid ( Myzus persicae subsp. persicae ) is [...] of growth hormones. As a result, the plant’s growth is retarded giving rise to deformed leaves or, if the infestation occurs early enough in the season,

Sugar cane

Saccharum spp. Sugar cane About Native to the tropical regions of South Asia and Melanesia, sugar cane belongs to the tall perennial true grass genus, Saccharum [...] six metres. The sucrose is extracted in mill factories to be processed into sugar or fermented to produce ethanol. The world’s sugar consumption is derived [...] plentiful rainfall for a period of more than six months per annum. It does not tolerate severe frosts.

Broad mite

mites (Polyphagotarsonemus latus) are not a serious problem, as they are unable to overwinter. Mites belonging to the family of tarsonemids ( Tarsonemidae [...] of legs in both males and females is different to the others and not used for walking. After moulting to the third larval stage the larvae stay in their [...] mainly concentrated on the underside near the leaf stalk, which tends to cause the leaf to turn brown and curl up. A typical indication of an attack of broad

Bacterial soft rot, bacterial stem rot

lesions first are small and sunken, water-soaked and light to dark brown. They are adjacent to wounds and natural openings at the stem end. Later the fruit [...] is a different subspecies. How to prevent Bacterial soft rot, bacterial stem rot Prevent high humidity Use sanitation to prevent spread within the crop [...] carotovora subsp. carotovora or Pectobacterium carovora is very common, but does not often reach epidemic population densities. It can survive as epiphytic bacteria