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Notes from Florida Tour of Brazil Citrus Industry August 9-16, 2008
Mutual recently took part in an educational tour of the Brazilian citrus industry. During the intensive six day trip to the Sao Paulo citrus growing region, the tour group visited more than half a dozen farms, two research centers and a citrus nursery. The main topic of discussion was the Brazilian industry’s battle with HLB.
Steve Futch of IFAS has been guiding the tour for the past 4-5 years. Here are Mutual’s notes.
Monday August 11 (morning)
Agrindus Farm near Sao Carlos in the central region of Sao Paulo state.
Tour guide: Roberto Jank Junior, Agrindus’ general manager
Agrindus is a 62 year-old family farm. It is located about 30 miles southeast of Araraquara. Operations include citrus, beef cattle, poultry and a dairy that produces branded milk and yogurt on-site. As required by federal law, the farm has 20 percent of its land as natural areas.
The farm planted 1,500 acres of irrigated citrus in 2004 just before greening was found in Brazil.
They found it in late 2004 and blame it on a bad neighbor who doesn’t have proper management techniques in place.
“We have bad neighbors that don’t do the job,” said Jank.
Jank said the government is sanctioned to fine growers who don’t remove infected trees and in some cases can involuntarily remove the trees; however, he said the government is not doing the job and that the program is ineffective.
“There is a big fight. We have a lot of older growers who do not want to take groves out. It is a big problem,” Jank said. “We are supposed to have a government program but it doesn’t work.”
Agrindus has pushed 20,000 of the 280,000 total trees on the farm, or 7 percent.
The farm’s psyllid management program entails 24 sprays per year or every 15 days. Temik is applied every 80 days
Jank estimated his pick and haul costs at 1.5 Real per box, or $1 US. Pickers make, on average, $56 a day, or $7 an hour.
The farm has 10 people scouting everyday on two tractor platforms and 1 motorcycle.
Agrindus is not making any money on citrus b/c all contracts are based on the dollar while labor and inputs are in the Brazilian Real. So the weak dollar is really hurting him. Agrindus sells all of its fruit to CitroVita – one of four processors in Brazil. The others are Cutrale, Citrosuco and Louis Dreyfus.
“We are very happy we are dairy farmers,” Jank said with a smile.
Monday August 11 (Afternoon)
Fundecitrus Headquarters in Araraquara
Tour Guide: Antonio Juliano Ayres, scientific manager for Fundecitrus
Most growers spray 12 times a year, some do it 24 times per year
There are 1.65 million (668,000 hectares) acres of citrus in Brazil
Fundecitrus is supported by grower contributions. It has 2,000 employees, 55 offices and a budget of around $25 million a year. The employees include 1,600 field inspectors and 7 full-time researchers.
Fundecitrus has inspected more than 700,000 households. The agency has the ability to inspect households but they must bring the government with them to remove trees.
- Please see Fundecitrus presentation for additional statistical
information
Tuesday August 12 (Morning)
Cambuhy Farm just outside of Matao in Sao Paulo’s central region
Tour Guide: Fernando Tersi, citrus production manager
Cambuhy operates 20,000 acres of citrus that produces about 5 million boxes per year. The farm has 15,000 additional acres of coffee, rubber and sugar cane.
The region is in a severe drought which, in addition to greening, has reduced this year’s crop 15 percent to around 300 million boxes. By the way, only 60 million boxes, or 20 percent, of the Brazilian citrus crop is consumed domestically, the rest is exported.
The Cambuhy farm is dealing with HLB, CVC, canker, black spot and leprosis. Huge multi-hundred acre blocks have been removed b/c of CVC.
Because of HLB, the farm has removed about 40,500 trees or 1.5 percent of its total citrus crop. Tersi said they have removed more trees in the last 12 months than the previous 36. This is troubling, he said.
The farm employs 105 scouts, on 20 platform tractors.
Like Jank at Agrindus, Tersi lamented the fact that the crop is sold in US dollars and many costs are in Real. In June 2007 1 US$ = 2.25 Real. In July 2008 1US$ = 1.65 Real. As the US dollar devalues it makes inputs like labor higher.
Tersi said his total pick and haul costs are $1.70 – $2.00 US in total costs (wages, benefits, bonuses and taxes). Jank’s costs at Agrindus may not have included all of the components so it may seem less.
Competition for labor between sugar cane and citrus is causing labor costs to increase.
Cambuhy does platform inspection for greening with 4 inspectors and a driver for tall trees and 2 inspectors for small trees. Cambuhy has a bonus system for inspectors of greening to encourage accuracy. By walking you can only inspect 500 plants per day total. With truck platforms you can inspect 1,000 to 1,200 trees per day per inspector.
Tersi like Jank is frustrated with the government not involuntarily removing infected groves. “The government doesn’t apply the law. The state doesn’t do their job,” he said.
Cambuhy sprays 24 times a year
Tersi estimates 20 percent of acreage in Brazil are aggressive in these techniques. “A lot of people don’t believe this is a problem,” he said. Florida experts estimate the number is 30 percent in Florida.
Tuesday August 12 (afternoon)
Fazenda Alvarada
Tour Guide: Tony from Fundecitrus
When Fundecitrus started to work with greening they did not realize how severe the problem would be. Small growers may find it difficult to spend the money to control greening like larger growers.
Researchers suggest as many as 5 million trees should be removed due to greening in the state of Sao Paulo. This could amount to about 5% of the trees in the state. Total citrus trees in Sao Paulo are about 160 million.
At this farm, the grower pointed to a phone tower in his grove and said he made more money on it than citrus.
Tuesday August 12 (Late Afternoon)
Nova Era Ethanol Plant
Tour Guide: Leandro from Nova Era
This plant is only for ethanol/alcohol and does not make sugar. Plant has the capacity to make about 90,000 liters a day of ethanol.
The plant is surrounded by sugar cane – miles and miles. Small, ethanol/alcohol plants like this one dot the landscape every few miles. Brazil is the world’s second largest producer of ethanol and the world’s largest exporter. The government mandates 22 percent ethanol/78 percent gasoline blend and next year that will rise to 30/70 percent.
Sugar cane provides an alternative crop to citrus. Many growers have converted. Buddy Strickland with Orange Co., who went on the Brazil trip in 2003, said he was amazed at how much grove acreage is now sugar cane.
The Nova Era plant operates 24 hours per day, 7 days a week for 9-10 months a year. Operational period is determined by supply of cane and market conditions.
The cane is harvested and brought to the ethanol plants. The proximity of the plants to the sugar cane helps transportation costs. After washing, the cane is milled to separate the sugar from the cane. The sugar solution will placed in large vats to be mixed with yeast to convert to alcohol. This process takes about 24 hours. In processing it takes approximately 1 ton of cane to make 80 liters of alcohol. One hectare of cane will yield 110 tons.
Wednesday August 13 (Morning)
Citrosuco’s Entre Rios Farm
Tour Guide: Luis Fernando Girotto, general manager.
Farm is Citrosuco’s largest at 15,500 acres and 1.8 million trees
“We are very afraid of greening in this region,” said Girotto. “The situation for some farms is very bad.”
Entre Rios has 84 staff positions dedicated solely to grove inspections. Once a tree is found they remove every tree within 30 meters. In the past year, the farm has eradicated 36,600 trees or 1.9 percent of total.
Citrosuco doesn’t use PCR checks anymore, totally rely on accuracy of scouts. The testing just took too long. Finding 2,200 trees a month with greening however they haven’t found a psyllid in 4 months so they hope the spread of HLB is slowing.
“If growers don’t control the psyllid and don’t remove trees there will definitely be trouble,” Girotto said. He said Citrosuco was slow to react in the beginning and that cost them. The company’s aggressive psyllid control program is only one year old.
Girotto said the farm is luck b/c they do not have any bad neighbors.
For young, non-bearing trees, the farm sprays 24 times a year or every 15 days. For mature trees its 11 times a year.
Wednesday August 13 (Afternoon)
CitroVita’s Fazenda Raio de Sol farm near Itirapina
Tour Guide: Eduardo Lopes, general manager
The farm has eradicated 100,000 trees b/c of HLB
The company grows 61,000 acres of citrus
CitroVita is frustrated with the small growers not doing anything. The company has met with its neighbors and is willing to educate them and provide discounted scouting services. They chart every single greening find in the surrounding are so they know who is controlling the psyllid and who isn’t.
CitoVita takes and aggressive, hard-line stance to beating greening.
Scout, spray, remove, scout, spray, remove, etc… Once a black gets to 15 percent infection, it is their policy to push the entire block.
“We are not negotiating with the psyllid,” said Lopes.
It now does 24 sprays per year because “once a month was not good enough.”
CitroVita employs 60 scouts dedicated to HLB
Thursday August 14 (morning)
The Capao Bonito Farm near Porto Ferreira
Tour Guide: Gilberto Tozatti, a consultant and Mario Vergs, grove manager
This location has 425 acres
Spray 12 times a year. Do not go to 24 because they are worried about the biological effect on the groves. This is the first time anyone has voiced that concern. Previous growers have been content with nuking the grove.
Scout the entire grove each month
Mario Eduardo Vergs, the grove manager, said he is optimistic that the disease can be managed
Not re-setting groves at this time, waiting to see what happens
Thursday August 14 (afternoon)
Farenza Bom Jesus outside of Santa Cruz de Conceicao
Tour Guide: Gilberto Tozatti
This farm is a “bad neighbor” according to Tozatti
100 percent infection rate, it was just 20 percent last year and 5 percent in 2006.
“As more farms go under like this one, the survivors will reap the benefits in the future if they invest now,” Tozatti said.
Owner plans on pushing the trees and planting sugar cane.
Despite being overrun with HLB, the farm is still harvesting green fruit. Tozatti said the processors do not have brix standards and the grove owner has good relationships with the processors so they will still buy the fruit.
“Think of a new paradigm to grow citrus. Think outside the box. You must adapt. The ways of the past will not work. Citrus production practices are changing and so must you!”
He said frequent inspections – at least 12 times a year – and eradication should slow the spread of greening. Start too late in the infestation and you may never catch up. Early on growers felt that 3-4 psyllid sprays were sufficient, however this level of spray frequency is not sufficient to control greening in Brazil.
“We are looking at a fast forward of what is coming to Florida” said Buddy Strickland of Orange Co. “You can see where we will be in a year.”
Friday August 15 (morning)
SaniCitrus Nursery in Araras
Tour Guide: Gilberto Tozatti
CVC, canker sudden death and greening changed the way nurseries in Brazil operate.
From 1998 to 2003 all nurseries were enclosed. 600,000 trees a year capacity at SaniCitrus – 63 employees
Main scion varieties in Brazil – Valencia 29%, Pera Rio 27%, Hamlin 18%, Natal 9%
The vast majority of rootstock is either rangpur line or citromelo swingle
New trees cost about $3
Giberto Tozatti has concerns about greening being transmitted by seeds
Friday August 15 (afternoon)
Centro APTA Citrus in Cordeiropolis
Tour Guide: Eduardo Ferminos Carlos, citrus researcher
The big four processors (Cutrale, CitroVita, Louis Dreyfus and Citrosuco) account for about a fifth of the trees in Sao Paulo. There are 216.8 million trees total in Sao Paulo. Please see attached presentation for additional statistical information
Leprosis is endemic to Sao Paulo state. It is found in Mexico, throughout Central and South America. The vector is a mite. HLB is more worrisome
“Few growers except the big guys will survive,” said Eduardo Carlos, a researcher at the Center. “If growers haven’t done anything by now it is too late. They are gone.”
“HLB = TIME” “If you are not fast on this disease forget it,” Carlos said. “It is fast but you have to be faster.”
Carlos estimates the Brazilian industry is spending $2 million a year on HLB research. The Cordeiropolis Center has sent four proposals to FCPRAC for review.
- Please see APTA presentation for additional information
