The 2013-14 campaign will be long remembered by the province's citrus producers because the production ultimately declined more than 50%, a result that endorsed the prognosis made in early season. The effects of the frost in July and August 2013 and the drought in spring and early summer had a strong impact on production levels. While in some cases the losses did not exceed 30%, in others, they were almost complete.
"On a positive note: the international prices of fresh fruit and derivatives contributed in some measure to balance the accounts of the least affected producers," said Hernan Salas, coordinator of the Citrus Program in the Obispo Colombres Agro-industrial Experimental Station (EEAOC).
Regarding environmental conditions, the rains normalized in February this year, which was favoured by the plants and some of them, although not many, even flowered; so there is a limited amount of fruit for next summer.
This year's winter was not characterized by the absence of frost, which favoured the production of summer fruits and the continuity of the plants' recovery process.
The first major flowering of the campaign took place in late winter and was followed by another one that was less intense. However, during the months of October and November, there was a large production of small fruits.
After June, the deficit in rains was lower than last season, although it didn't reach the historical average in citrus production sites. The differences were marked dramatically in November and the largest delays in rain took place in the north, while the situation tended to normalize in the remaining areas.
Today it is possible to observe flowers (in limited quantity) in many estates that, depending on environmental conditions, will also come for the 2015 campaign. Thus, even though one could infer next year's campaign production will be better than that of 2014, it will still have smaller volumes than those achieved in recent years.
Another situation to highlight in November was the hail in a wide sector of the province's central productive zone, which caused different degrees of damage in some estates in Ischilon, Cochamolles, Sauce Huascho, Caspinchango, Famailla and Lules, said Salas.
He also stated they needed to maintain Tucuman's unique situation regarding the HLB. "We are now qualified as a Zone 1, i.e. a zone with the absence of a vector and bacteria. This sets us apart from other producing areas. Salta, Jujuy and much of the coastline are Zone 2, as a vector is present-; while the NEA has a Zone 3, as a vector and bacteria are present, and contingency Zone 4, where the infected plants that have been detected have been eradicated," he said.
"It's vital we keep the province's Zone 1 status. Thus, we call again on the citizenship -whether they are linked or not to the citrus production- to take extreme care and not bring in materials (fruits and plants) from other regions. If they do, which is allowed, they must previously wash, brush, and process the fruits in packages," he added.
Transferring plant material can only be made through a sanitation centre. "Nobody can move fruit or plants on their own. Moving plants from the NEA, in particular, would be extremely irresponsible," said Salas.
Source: lagaceta.com.ar