A wider diversity of weeds and insects in organic Mexican citrus orchards compared to conventional orchards aids in control of the HLB-spreading Asian citrus psyllid (ACP/Diaphorina citri), a Mexican scientist reported recently. HLB is also known as citrus greening disease.
"In the organic orchard, there are almost double the species of weeds compared to the conventional orchard," Carlos Castillejos Cruz stated. "The organic orchard has higher abundance in all order of insects," including ACP predators, he added. The professor of plant morphogenesis and physiology at National Autonomous University of Mexico said a conventional orchard had 700% the ACP population of an organic grove at the time of tree sprouting.
Read the full article at citrusindustry.net.
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