Between August 16th and 18th, 2023, training and administrative activities were carried out at the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences (FaCAF), General Artigas, of the National University of Itapúa in Paraguay, within the framework of a visit by the coordinator Mg. Silvana Giancola (INTA CIEP), the alternate coordinator and responsible for the execution of the demonstrator batches, Mg. Alcides Aguirre (INTA EEA Bella Vista) of the project Sustainable Control of the HLB Vector in Family Farming in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, a project of which the Faculty is part as a co-executing body. Likewise, the Ph.D. participated in the delegation. Alberto Gochez (INTA EEA Bella Vista), coordinator of the Procisur HLB project and participant of Fontagro and Lic. Ernesto Fernández of Fundación ArgenINTA. The visit was coordinated locally by the research and academic team of the university branch.
During the day of August 16, master conferences were held in the hall of the General Artigas headquarters of the FaCAF, where the following were given:
- Citrus HLB disease: the greatest scourge of global citrus farming; symptomatology, causal agent, world situation and in Argentina, by the Ph.D. Alberto Gochez, specialist in Plant Pathogen Interaction of the citrus canker pathosystem.
- HLB vector, natural enemies and management, with Mg. Alcides Aguirre, specialist in Integrated Pest Management in Citrus and responsible for the Tamarixia radiata Biofactory in Corrientes, Argentina.
- Status and progress of citrus HLB in Paraguay: experience of the Fontagro HLB Fram and San Pedro del Paraná project, Itapúa, Paraguay, which had the Ph.D. Carlos Wlosek as speaker, specialist in Fruit Growing.
- Progress and results of the project Sustainable control of the HLB vector in family agriculture in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, led by the project leader, Mg. Silvana Giancola.
- Results of integrated pest management implemented in a demonstrator lot of the Fontagro project in Bella Vista, Corrientes, Argentina, by Mg. Alcides Aguirre and Ph.D. Alberto Gochez.
In addition, printed copies of the guide entitled “HLB and its vector” were given to students and teachers. Images and notes for field recognition” (INTA Ediciones) carried out within the framework of the Fontagro HLB project.
Likewise, Mr. Ernesto Fernández from Fundación ArgenINTA and Mr. Ulises Venialgo from FaCAF addressed administrative issues of the project.
On August 17, continuing with the visit program, the practical training day was held at Carlos Wlosek's productive farm, located in General Artigas, where students from the faculty and producers from the area participated.
- Methodological and practical training, led by Mg. Alcides Aguirre, was carried out in the demonstrator plots for pest monitoring, the identification of Diaphorina citri and other pests using the three monitoring methods of the project: visual, tapping and yellow cards.
- For his part, the Ph.D. Alberto Gochez was in charge of the methodological and practical training for disease monitoring, plant sampling, determination of incidence and severity of diseases, identification of symptoms of canker and melanosis in citrus trees.
After completing the technical program, the FaCAF Research Coordinator, Agrop. Manuela Arriola, representing the Dean, gave well-deserved recognition to the speakers from INTA and FaCAF for the aspects addressed on the two dates.
The agenda of the second day ended with a visit to the project's demonstrator lot located in San Pedro del Paraná, where diseases (HLB and Leprosis) were diagnosed, management recommendations were given to the producer and local team, and the holding a participatory workshop at the end of the year with producers neighboring the lot and other actors to train and present results of the management carried out during the execution of the project.
On the 18th, the project coordination visit culminated with a technical-administrative planning meeting at FaCAF's Encarnación headquarters. Participating for FaCAF: Perla Sosa de Wood, Ulises Venialgo Vera and Sebastian Castillo; by Fundación ArgenINTA: Ernesto Fernández; and for INTA: Alberto Gochez, Alcides Aguirre and Silvana Giancola.
Source: Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Forestales – General Artigas - Paraguay. Coordinación proyecto Fontagro Control sustentable del vector del HLB en AF - INTA CIEP, Argentina. https://facaf.uni.edu.py/2023/08/21/la-facaf-general-artigas-recibe-a-delegacion-del-inta-argentina-proyecto-control-sustentable-del-vector-de-hlb-en-la-agricultura-familiar-en-argentina-uruguay-paraguay-y-bolivia/
