Embrapa announced no agrochemicals used on Raoiella in Brazil

The Brazilian Agricultural Research Company (Embrapa) recently announced to have detected the presence of Raoiella Indica in the Northeastern state of Sergipe. The plague attacks over ninety species of plants and there are no agrochemicals registered in Brazil for its control.

This species of mite is found mainly on coconut trees, banana trees, palm oil and other palm trees. The Raoiella causes severe yellowing and leave necrosis, dramatically reducing the yields – on new plants and seedlings in nurseries.

"Emergency actions are necessary to avoid losses to palm trees crops, such as coconut trees, and the flowering plants like banana and other ornamental plants in Sergipe,” alerts Adenir Vieira Teodoro, researcher and entomologist at the Embrapa unit of Aracaju, Sergipe.

Entomologist Adenir Teodoro reports that the Raoiella has a high reproductive power because one female can put up to 160 eggs: “Although tiny, the plague is easily identifiable by naked eye, because of its intense red color, on the low parts of the leaflets, especially where they are already yellow. However, it is easier with the use of pocket magnifiers with at least 10 times of increase”.

Embrapa is starting research on the efficiency of vegetable crude oils, such as cotton, at the control of Raoiella. These oils have been used in alternative control of other plague of coconut, such as the Coconut Mite (Aceria guerreronis), and have an additional advantage of the low toxicity to the natural enemies.

According to the Embrapa researcher, there is a natural biological control because the Raoiella has several predators like Ladybugs, lacewings, and mites, and fungus that cause diseases to mites. These options will also be researched by Embrapa to compose programs of integrated plague management of this plague with the use of crude oil associated with the natural biological control.