AgBiTech develops system that anticipates caterpillar attacks

Date:11-02-2023

Research professionals at AgBiTech, in collaboration with renowned Brazilian researchers, have developed a system that predicts caterpillar attacks on crops throughout the harvest season.

Known as the Anticipate Project, the platform is based on the installation of traps to capture moths in the vicinity of crops. The analysis system allows for the precise assessment of potential damage resulting from caterpillar pressure in these areas. According to AgBiTech, the initiative began modestly as an experiment with six observation posts. Currently, the Anticipate Project already has traps placed in strategic points in 15 municipalities in the Brazilian states of Goiás, Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso do Sul.

Ana Laura Favoretto

The system is being supervised by entomologist Ana Laura Favoretto from AgBiTech's team of specialists, and involve eight other independent consultancies. "It has become increasingly difficult to predict what will happen in the field. There is the risk of weather, production and pests. We have also witnessed changes in the caterpillar scenario over the last three to four years," said Victor Hugo Duarte da Costa, a doctor in plant biotechnology at AgBiTech.

Victor Hugo Duarte da Costa

According to Duarte da Costa, the more "advanced the information we have about the dynamics of moths, whether in pre or post-planting, the closer we are to the ideals for producers’ management, which are the allocation of resources, the application of products, and the control of caterpillars."

Gustavo Shiomi

According to agronomist Gustavo Shiomi, AgBiTech's marketing manager, in the latest update related to moth captures in areas covered by the project, some 3,800 individuals had been collected, mainly from the species, Helicoverpa, Spodoptera and Rachiplusia nu. "We have reliable information based on scientific evidence on where there will be significant caterpillar pressure in these regions, and also on which species will be predominant," he said.

Shiomi stressed that the collection of information from the Anyicipate traps will help create a permanently updated database about the presence of caterpillars and level of infestation by species in the target regions of the study. Soon, the project will be replicated in other areas of the country, he added.

Germison Tomquelski

Consultant and researcher Germison Tomquelski from Desafios Agro (MS) said, ″Specifically in this El Niño year, the Anticipate Project will help producers plan more efficiently for caterpillar management during the harvest, including adjusting crop monitoring and planning any product applications. The farmer will receive quality information to make strategic decisions in support of soybean productivity.″

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)

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