Helicoverpa armigera: phytosanitary emergency declared in Brazilian state

A decree declaring state of phytosanitary emergency in the Brazilian state of Maranhão was issued last Thursday (10.22). The ordinance No. 232 affirms that the measures were taken due to the “risk of outbreak of the caterpillar Helicoverpa armigera in the eastern and southern regions of the state of Maranhão in order to implement the suppression of the plagues and adoption of emergency measures”.

The decision was made by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), Kátia Abreu, and was published at the Official Gazette. Identified in Brazil since December of 2012, the caterpillar provoked losses estimated at R$ 10 billion in the last two crop seasons, attacking mostly soybeans, corn, and cotton intensely in the states of Bahia, Paraná, Mato Grosso and the Federal District.

With this week's decree, Maranhão is authorized for one year to implement diverse specific measures of the Ministry forecast at the ordinance 1,109 (November 6 of 2013). Among the measures, there is a temporary emergency authorization of imports of agrochemical products that have an active ingredient of the substance Benzoate Emamecticin.