The arrival of the Huanglongbing disease (HLB) in Peru would put at risk 58 thousand hectares of citrus, such as lemon, orange and tangerines, stated the National Agrarian Health Service (SENASA).
If the disease entered the country, it would cause great economic losses to more than 90 thousand producers and would harm the national gastronomy, they added.
The vector is located in Ecuadorian areas that are very close to the Peruvian border, which is why Senasa decreed in 2017 a phytosanitary alert in order to protect the country's citrus crops.
The HLB is a bacterium that is transmitted by two insects (the closest one to Peru is the Diaphorina citri), but the main form of propagation is the use of contaminated material. The HLB disease is the most destructive disease for citrus fruits in the world and has no cure.
Peru is currently free of HLB and of its transmitting insect, which is why Senasa conducts a permanent surveillance in the border areas of Piura and Tumbes and evaluates the crops to detect the possible presence of the transmitting insect.
Source: agraria.pe