itrus fruits, such as mandarin, oranges, lemon, lime, grape fruit and tangerines are important owing to their rich nutritional value. These fruits are equally useful as unprocessed or processed into juices or used as flavouring in foods and beverages. As per Food and Agriculture Organisation, global citrus production was 47.4 million tonnes in FY 2023-24. US, Spain, China and Brazil are the largest producers of citrus fruits.

The decline of citrus production in Punjab’s Sargodha region has been due to poor soil health, salinity, nutrient deficiency, emerging diseases and climate stress. Declining orchard management, aging plantations and water scarcity have further weakened tree vigour, leading to lower fruit yield and declining orchard productivity.

Global citrus production has been declining in recent years due to several factors - biotic economic and regulatory. Biotic risks associated with the yield decline include plant diseases, such as citrus greening, citrus canker, citrus scab, melanoses and root rot diseases.

Climate change - droughts made worse by poor irrigational practices, soil degradation through leaching of nutrients, salting and backing up waylay the growth of the citrus tree roots. This limits the availability of nutrients to the plants. The economic and social problem of citrus production include unstable prices at the time of harvest, increasing urbanisation, trade disputes and competition. The financial risks have forced many growers to limit planning and investments.

Citrus production has also been affected by factors such as aging trees, low genetic variability and imprecise methods of farming including poor pruning, fertilisation and pest control. These factors result in poor tree health, low productivity and susceptibility to pests and diseases.

Regulatory challenges play an important role in the Citrus industry. These challenges include high overhead costs and the need for expensive certification of fruits for processing. The global citrus market is also influenced by trade related measures such as tariffs and quotas. These measures affect the costs, returns and feasibility of citrus production.

Citrus decline in Pakistan is a serious threat to agriculture industry especially in the Punjab, which is the major producer of citrus. This decline has been due to an interaction of biotic and abiotic factors. The biotic factorsinclude citrus greening disease which causes yellowing of the leaves, stunted growth and fruits of unfamiliar shape and bitter taste. Citrus diseases like gummosis pose additional stress on trees and lower production.

The government has a responsibility to support the farmers in establishing easily accessible nurseries and germplasm collections. 

Poor rainfall distribution and inadequate irrigation practices are abiotic stresses that aggravate the problem. Some of the factors that cause soil degradation include nutrient depletion, increased salinity and poor management practices. All of these lower the quality and health of root and vigour of the trees. Climate change - more frequent spells of abnormally high temperature and early rains – can also be overwhelming.

Many farmers do not apply modern farming techniques. Many lack adequate capital to purchase some of the quality inputs, such as a disease-free nursery, the right type of fertilisers and pesticides. Meanwhile, extension services and access to technical know-how remain restricted. This negatively impacts the implementation of the best practices relating to orchard management.

Some of the challenges in the supply chain include poor preservation and transportation infrastructure causing the fruits to rot after harvest, reducing the viability of citrus farming. This is further aggravated by lack of political will in supporting and crafting policies. As a result, citrus production and quality is constantly declining. The country previously known for exporting high quality citrus fruits is in danger of losing its market share. This will ruin the farmers solely dependent on citrus crops.

The following measures are recommended to sustain and enhance citrus farming and the value-added citrus industry in Pakistan:

Use of integrated pest management. This involves use of bio-control methods.

Continued support of better and competitive disease-free citrus varieties through genetic improvement.

Improved water supply management and use of modern irrigation techniques like drip and sprinkler irrigation.

Eradicating of disease sources and use of disease-free plants.

Healthy groves and nested nurseries to help keep the young citrus plants free from diseases. The nurseries must employ ideal phytosanitary measures such as the use of certified disease-free rootstock and scion. Growing new citrus crop from high quality and genetically diverse germplasm is essential for developing resistance against diseases and environmental constraints.

The germplasm collections should include both disease resistant rootstock and scion types. It is important to test the new roots compatibility to the local soil and climate.

Use of throbbing and controls to realise the best germplasm and its distribution to the farmers.

The government has a responsibility to support the farmers in establishing easily accessible nurseries and germplasm collections.

The writer heads the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Sargodha.He can be reached at [email protected]