Damage caused by banana moth and management methods

The banana moth, in addition to direct damage to banana producers, ends up creating phytosanitary barriers to exports to countries such as Argentina, where it is considered a quarantine pest. Combating the insect requires measures that include careful examination of the bunches in the packaging house to detect and eliminate fruits with external symptoms of the presence of the moth, in addition to other techniques such as bagging and chemical control to protect the fruits.

From an entomological point of view, the species Opogona sacchari, popularly known as banana moth, is considered a pest of secondary importance, as it does not cause significant productivity losses for the crop and direct damage to banana farmers in Santa Catarina who sell bananas on the domestic market. However, the damage is great when loads of bananas, exported to Argentina, are rejected by technicians working at the phytosanitary barrier at the Dionísio Cerqueira Customs Station, Santa Catarina, when they discover the presence of caterpillars in samples of fruit boxes inspected there. local. This is because the banana moth is a quarantine pest in that country.

 the species Opogona sacchari (Lepidoptera: Lyonitidae) is an exotic pest, originating from humid areas in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa. In the 20s it was observed attacking banana fruits in the Canary Islands. In Brazil, its presence was noted, for the first time, in the state of São Paulo in the municipality of Guarujá in 1972, from where it spread to other banana-producing municipalities in the Ribeira Valley. In Santa Catarina, attacks were observed from 2003 onwards in the producing region of the North Coast. The municipalities in Santa Catarina with a history of occurrence of the pest are Corupá, Schoereder, Guaramirim, Jaraguá do Sul, São João do Itaperiú, Balneário Piçarras, Barra Velha, Massaranduba and Luís Alves, with the last two municipalities standing out for having the most attacked banana plantations. and with higher rates of cargo rejection. 

It is a polyphagous pest that has several host plants, including corn, sugar cane, cassava stems, palm tree stems, as well as potato tubers, yams, bamboo palms, gladiolus and dahlia. In greenhouses, it attacks ornamental plants: Dracaena, Shooting range, Begonia, Bougainvillea, euphorbia, Rubber plant, Philodendron. The caterpillar can also develop in crops of the edible shitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes), causing a reduction in production. The attack on the royal palm tree (Archontophoenix spp), an expanding culture on the North Coast of Santa Catarina in traditional areas of banana farming.

Recognition and biological aspect

Adult: it has a nocturnal habit and a color that is generally light brown, almost straw. Males are generally smaller than females, measuring 18,0mm in wingspan and females 23,0mm. The female's forewings have two dark spots. Its abdomen is more robust, while the male's is more pointed. The postures are carried out, preferably, in the pistil region (tip of the fruit). Adults can live up to two weeks.

Egg: it is light yellow in color and elliptical in shape. The female lays isolated or in groups and the incubation period varies from six to seven days.

Caterpillar: When hatching, the caterpillar measures, on average, 2mm in length and is light yellow in color with a brown head. At the end of the stage the larva reaches around 25mm in length. The duration of the larval stage is 18 days to 35 days. Upon completing this phase, the caterpillar weaves a type of cocoon and pupates next to the pseudostem.

Pupa: It is reddish-brown in color and measures around 12mm in length. The pupal stage lasts, on average, 12 days. Afterwards, adults emerge, mate and restart the biological cycle.

Control measures

- Bagging: Early bagging of bunches with polyethylene bags generally reduces the infestation of pests that attack the fruits.

Cultural measures

- Depistillation: removal of floral remains adhered to the fruits. This is an important practice because they are the preferred places for the female to lay. This operation is normally carried out in the packaging house.

- Disposal: the packing house must be adequate (well lit) and the packing team must be capable of inspecting bundles and bouquets and eliminating material that shows traces of pest attack.

Chemical control: The use of bags impregnated with insecticides has effectively controlled the pest. It is also recommended to use a “tie”, that is, strips (10cm wide by 90cm long) cut from bags impregnated with insecticides and tied to the bunch for approximately one month before the harvest point. Indiscriminate spraying of insecticides can worsen the problem of pest attack, as it kills natural enemies, such as egg-parasitoid wasps, which are important agents in controlling the pest.

 To resolve or minimize the problem regarding the export of fruit, there is Normative Instruction No. 28, of 07/2009, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Supply (Mapa), which establishes the criteria and procedures for preventing and controlling the pest, with emphasis on in the careful examination that must be carried out on the banana bunch in the packing house, detecting and eliminating fruits with external symptoms of the presence of the pest.

 

Click here to read the article in Cultivar Vegetables and Fruits edition 80.