The Yellow Dragon is one of the most destructive diseases for citrus fruits in the world, it is even listed as one of the main emerging transboundary pests identified in Latin America and the Caribbean. Thousands of losses are generated every year and apparently, research is being carried out by the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí, UASLP, which is isolating the bacteria that produces it.
In 2023 worldwide, producers have reported the highest orange prices, even currently producing a glass of orange juice costs 50 pesos for any small business, due to the fact that the Yellow Dragon disease is reducing between 70 and 80 percent of orchard production worldwide.
It should be remembered that Mexico is the fourth largest producer of citrus fruits globally and represents a threat to the 526 thousand hectares that exist in 23 states, including Veracruz, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Nayarit, Michoacán. , Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, Yucatán and of course San Luis Potosí. The economic losses in this country due to this disease represent 16 billion pesos per year.
Vanessa Olivares Illana, researcher at the Physics Institute of the highest university, says that together with her team of collaborators, she managed to isolate the bacteria that causes the disease a few days ago and this is allowing them to understand how it behaves to exterminate it.
The above occurred through the Laboratory of Biomolecular Interactions and Cancer, where it was possible to isolate the bacteria colloquially known as Yellow Dragon, which comes from the Asian continent and causes citrus disease in plants.
There are significant advances in terms of his research work in the Laboratory, which may represent hope for producers, since he is currently characterizing the bacteria to learn how it can be attacked to help orange trees, so that do not die and fruit with excellent flavor and quality can be obtained because they have discovered that, depending on the region, a certain type of orange tree tolerates the disease better and that is why they continue with the studies.
The researcher is one of the three women within the student body who reached Level III this year, in terms of research quality, within the National System of Researchers of the National Council of Humanities, Science and Technology. (Conahcyt).
