The crop 2019/20 belt orange citrus Sao Paulo, Triangle / west Miner 386 790 000 ended in 40.8 kg of boxes, according to the estimation Crop Research (PES) Fundecitrus. The value shows a reduction of 0.54% compared to the first estimate of 388.89 million boxes, released in May 2019. This harvest was 35.3% higher than the previous (2018/19), which highlights biennial production cycle of the orange, namely, higher yields alternating with lower yields.
“Over the past 30 years, only four had higher yields than this, but that it is closing the productivity per hectare has reached an unprecedented level,” says the coordinator of the PES, Vinicius Trombin. The productivity observed was 1,045 boxes per hectare, a decrease of six boxes per hectare compared to the initial projection but still a record.
According to the general manager of Fundecitrus, Juliano Ayres, this milestone was made possible by a convergence of factors. “On the one hand, producers who in recent decades have renewed orchards adopting higher levels of technology and offered appropriate cultural practices, and on the other, the nature that, through climate, enabled the plants reached the apex of the productive potential in terms of fruits per tree, “he points out.
Total production of oranges this season included 76.27 million boxes of Hamlin varieties, Westin and Ruby; 19.83 million boxes of Valencia varieties American, Seleta and Pineapple; 118 290 000 boxes of the variety Pear River; 125.81 million boxes of Valencia and Valencia varieties Leaf wilt; and 46.59 million Christmas assortment boxes. About 27 million boxes were produced in the Triangle Mineiro.
Climate favorable despite rains below average
ideal weather conditions were observed during the winter and spring of 2018 and allowed excellent flowering and favored the good fixation of flowers and fixing young fruits, resulting in high numbers of fruit per tree and homogenization of production, with about 94% of fruit concentrates first and second flowering.
In the filling phase and harvest of oranges, May 2019 and March 2020, cumulative rainfall reached 1210 mm, 9% lower than the historical average of 1,332 millimeters (1981-2010) according to the Sum Weather data.
The rainfall deficiency was more pronounced in the Center, South and Southwest citrus belt. In the north and northwest, the rainfall reached higher volumes. With the exception of the regions of the Triangle Mineiro and Sao Jose do Rio Preto, all the others had accumulated below the historical average.
Overall, the reduction in rainfall hampered the growth of oranges, which showed even lower average weight than projected in May 2019 – at that time, there were indications that the fruit would be small, mainly due to the large amount of fruit per tree and the high proportion of first and second blooming oranges. The average fruit weight was 156.3 grams, while the initial projection was that would reach 157 grams at harvest – regions with lower fruit had lower rain rates relative to their historical averages (see map the average fruit weight by region).
The average rate of fruit drop of citrus belt, accumulated since the beginning of the harvest was 17.63%, the highest ever measured by Fundecitrus. The main causes were natural fall, mechanized activities or adverse weather conditions (5.15%); Greening (4.39%); borer and the fruit flies (4.29%); early blight (2.12%); leprosy (1.30%); and citrus canker (0.38%).
The biggest drop rates were recorded in the South and Central areas (see map below), and the most likely causes are the high incidence of orange trees with symptoms of greening and the large amount of trees with high disease severity. According to the survey done in 2019 diseases by Fundecitrus, the South has 36.96% of the orange trees with greening, and the Center, 30.76%; in other sectors, the indices were significantly lower. The average, considering all the citrus park, is 19.02%.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.