Research points corn earworm "strong outbreak" in Brazilian state

The southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, was infested with a "strong outbreak" of the corn earworm (Helicoverpa armigera), which in just a few months registered more moths than all of last season. This is the conclusion of a study by the Pest Management Laboratory of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), in a partnership with DuPont.

 

The research analyzed the occurrence of moths collected in pheromone traps in Rio Grande do Sul and parts of the state of Santa Catarina in the first three weeks of December 2014. They indentified 910 copies of corn earworm, which added to 396 copies found in November,  totaling 1,306 moths identified through dissection.

 

"Despite a trap coverage in 39 municipalities (9 less than in 2013/14), the pest occurrence of this year so far, is already greater than all the occurrence of the previous harvest (total 890 moths). At this point, a brief analysis demonstrates the broad and uniform distribution of the pest, which indicates its establishment in the South as soybean pest, deserving management," said Professor Jerson Carús Guedes of the Department of Crop Protection at UFSM.