35 new pests were detected in Brazil in the last decade

"At least 35 new pests were detected on crops in the last 10 years and recently three new agricultural pests were detected in the country”. The information is from Claudio Spadotto, member of the Scientific Council for Sustainable Agriculture of Brazil and general-manager of Embrapa Land Management.

"One of them is Helicoverpa punctigera, as aggressive as H. armigera. Identified in Ceará in 2015, the H.punctigera can lead to huge losses in cotton, corn, and soybean crops. Another is Melanagromyza sp., identified in Rio Grande do Sul in July last year. It is an important pest in Australia, where it causes losses of up to 30% of grain production and is also widespread in Asia. This fly is also present in Paraguay and Argentina. Other plague identified in 2015, in Mato Grosso, is the invasive plant careless weed (maranthus palmeri), well known in the U.S. crops of cotton and soybeans. It is known that the lack of control can lead to losses of 80% or 90% of infested crops.”

According to him, “new pests with potential of generating big damages to Brazilian agriculture are at the imminence of getting to the country and the Ministry of Agriculture has adopted measures to strengthen the control to prevent entrances and establishment of quarantine pests. Actions of enforcement and control at the ports, airport and border check-points at the inspection of agricultural products that characterize risk compose the Contingency Plans, with operational procedures for applying preventing and emergency measure to eradicate focus and plague contention”.

“The understanding and awareness on the threats that the quarantine pests represent are primary. We need to know which pests are to come and where they can enter and establish in our fields. The characterization and detailing of the possible access of pest, along with the locations of crops threatened, are subsidies to the government programs of crop protection, especially in a country with vast and diversified territory, with extensive borders and intense trade relations as Brazil.

“We have to rationalize and optimize the phytosanitary surveillance actions, considering the distribution and dynamics of agriculture in the territory throughout time. The risk management in territorial base is indispensable because it enhances our capacity to anticipate and act proactively. The incorporation of territorial intelligence can supply data and consistent information, which helps to control access, establishment and dissemination of pests, diseases and weeds, it bring the possibility of unusual views and innovative approaches on crop protection,” explains Spadotto.

The expert cites the example of Embrapa work in the Cerrado region, which defined 141 municipalities that should be prioritized for the monitoring of Helicoverpa armigera. “Another example is a study, also from Embrapa, with Chilo partellus, which is a pest not present in Brazil. This moth presents potential to attack several crops, including corn, sugar and sugarcane. The results show that areas in Roraima (rice), São Paulo (cane), Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul (sugarcane and corn) should be prioritized in phytosanitary surveillance actions,” he adds.

"Other quarantine pest not present in Brazil, but already present in neighboring countries (Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) is Prodiplosis longifila. This fly has caused serious damages in areas with avocado, artichoke, cotton, potatoes, beans, orange, lemon, tangerine and tomato in other countries. The Embrapa study allowed eight municipalities as a priority for surveillance actions on this pest,” he explains.

"Therefore, the geospatial analysis can support the entrance prevention and the establishment of quarantine pests in Brazil, as well as support the planning of containment and control measures using georeferenced data and tolls of the Geographic Information System,” he concludes.