Optimism in the Face of Citrus Disease with a Balanced Nutrition

There is an interaction between nutrition and health, based on a very simple concept: “you are what you eat”. For plants, this concept also applies. The amount, moment, place and source of nutrients they receive affect their performance and health in the short, medium and long term. The defense mechanisms of crops are affected by the nutrition of the plant; all the nutrients can influence.

In the citrus industry, which has suffered from the ravages of the disease HLB (Huanglongbing, also called Citrus Greening), there is an increasingly positive outlook as it is recognized that the positive effects of a balanced nutrition and the management of the vector that transmits the disease mitigate the effects of the disease.

At the last Citrus Congress held in Mexico, Joaquín Velázquez, Miguel Manzanilla and Alejandro Huesca presented the first year of results of the study about “Fertilization with YaraLiva and YaraMila in Mexican Lime Infected with Huanglongbing”, in which important differences in yield and crop health are early appreciated. Below are five treatments in which it is observed how in a Mexican Lime grown in Tecomán, Colima, México with 100% of HLB infestation, the effect of a balanced nutrition significantly improves the productivity.

It is observed that the symptoms of the disease show less impact when a balanced nutrition is applied.

In summary:

• Balanced nutrition is key to strengthening crops against biotic and a-biotic stress.
• Balanced nutrition, as well as the effect of calcium and nitrates, have specific functions in the mechanisms of crop defenses, therefore they should be included in the fertilization program.
• Huanglongbing (HLB) generates nutrient deficiency and, for this reason, the use of supplementary nutrient treatments is recommended to mitigate its effects.

Nitrates have a role in defense mechanisms:

• Promotes the growth and recovery of the plant.
• Participates directly in the transmission of the alert through nitric oxide.
• It is essential for molecules that participate in chemical defense (e.g., cytokinins, auxins, glucanases, chitinases, phytoalexins).

Calcium also has a specific contribution in defense mechanisms:

• It helps to strengthen cell walls and mechanical strength.
• Accelerates the maturation of leaves (strong leaves are less attractive to insects /vectors).
• Reduces the activity of enzymes produced by fungi or bacteria to penetrate the tissue of the plan