Brazil adopts emergency measures to control Helicoverpa

Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Antonia Andra recently designed a text that establishes guidelines for the integrated management for the control of Helicoverpa armigera, due to the severe damages caused to crops by the caterpillar.

Now the states that have officially declared sanitary state of emergency because of the Helicoverpa caterpillar will have a plan prepared by the State or the District of Agricultural Protection Agencies. The plan should be based on the concepts and practices of Integrated Pest management, developed by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) with the participation of representatives from the academic, government and manufacturing sectors.

According to Embrapa’s researchers, the growth of Helicoverpa is due to inadequate farming practices, which must follow certain guidelines such as fallowing, the adoption of shelter areas, the destruction of rest of the crops combined with a controlled use of chemicals, among other practices.

The text signed by Antonio Andrade authorizes, on an emergency and temporary character, the import of pesticide products that have Emamectin Benzoateas active ingredient. Properties that use the substance will be monitored. "The plan, in addition to establishing the guidelines of a suppression program, authorizes the import of Emamectin Benzoate for use as a support in a program of Integrated Pest management that aims to control Helicoverpa", explained the director of the Plant Protection Department, Cosam Coutinho.

On October 28th 2013, the President Dilma Rousseff signed the 8.133 Act, which authorized the Department of Agriculture to establish the actions necessary to control agricultural pests or diseases, when officially declared phytosanitary or zoosanitary state of emergency, which includes the temporary importation of unauthorized pesticides, since it meets certain technical criteria, including the proven efficiency and no implication of environmental and public health risks.

Last November 4th, west of Bahia was officially declared state of emergency in relation to the Helicoverpa armigera pest. With this announcement, the state government can now define the area of action and adopt management measures through the suppression plan.