Bicudo: The challenge of Brazilian cotton farming

This pest is specific to cotton, as this plant provides conditions for the insect to complete its life cycle. Among the main cotton pests, the boll weevil is the one with the highest incidence and the greatest potential for damage. This occurs due to its high capacity to reproduce, high destructive power, difficult control and damage caused to the final product intended for sale.

Brazil has been living with this pest for 30 years and, with the accelerated pace of crop production in the country, the boll weevil has adapted year after year to the climate and has become even more dangerous for the next harvests. After harvesting and destroying the ratoons, the adult insects disperse to nearby areas of permanent vegetation, where they take shelter and wait for the next cycle. The attack is normally carried out from the edges closest to the refuge areas, but today field observations show that the boll weevil is always present in the environment. This occurs due to the low efficiency of managing tiguera cotton, the one that survives at the end of the crop cycle, which is present close to the farm headquarters, as an invasive plant for soybean crops and on roadsides.

Recommendation

There are several cotton boll weevil management strategies with the aim of reducing its damage, such as constantly monitoring the plantation; effectively destroy cotton stalks immediately after harvest; start monitoring with traps approximately 60 days before planting begins; promote safe applications with efficient insecticides and within the recommendations suggested by the FMC; plant in a concentrated manner and in a short period regionally; Never allow the development of wild cotton plants around the farm's headquarters, cotton gins, conveyors and on the borders of plots, including on highways.

Furthermore, it is important not to allow the weevil to multiply in cotton, soybean and corn crops or in any other crop (including those used as cover crops for the soil, such as: brachiaria, sunn hemp, forage sorghum and millet); be aware of Integrated Pest Management (IPM); be careful with IPM and resistance management, observing the recommendations for each cotton phase and pest situation at the time of application; and reduce the presence of the pest and population at the time of defoliation.

An estimate by the Goiana Cotton Producers Association (AGOPA) states that the cotton boll weevil generated a loss of R$1,5 billion in the last 15 years across the country. In the last three harvests, with an average volume of close to 1,7 million tons of feather, Brazil is among the five largest producers in the world. The domestic scenario is also promising: we are the fifth largest consumer, with more than 1 million tons/year, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Cotton Producers (ABRAPA). Given the importance that cotton brings to the Brazilian economy, controlling the pest of this crop through correct and effective management is essential for Brazilian farmers to maintain productivity and business success.