Soybean stem fly:Advance detected

Invasive exotic species are those whose introduction and/or dispersal threaten the biological diversity of ecosystems, as they cause economic and ecological impacts that are difficult to detect and quantify. The movements of these organisms, from one region to another, regardless of how they occur, whether intentional or accidental, cause environmental, economic, social and cultural losses that are often irreversible, and may or may not directly affect food, nutrition and human health. Furthermore, there is an increase in phytosanitary barriers to the commercialization of agricultural products from the affected region.

Certainly, it is modern human activity that has eliminated the world's geographic barriers and this has led to the so-called “bioglobalization of plagues”. Therefore, with each passing year a new problem arises in relation to invasive pests, since modified environments such as agroecosystems are seriously subject to these biological invasions.
Within this context and taking into account Brazilian agroecosystems where areas cultivated with soy have, in recent decades, increased by more than 200%, providing growth of around 370% in production, it must also be considered that problems related to plant health may arise , especially with regard to invasive pests. For example, there is the entry of Asian rust (Phakospora pahyrizi) or arthropod pests, such as the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 (Middle East-Asia Minor 1)) and the Helicoverpa caterpillar (Helicoverpa armigera). All of them have a major impact on Brazilian agriculture and are still considered a major problem for soybean production in the country.
In addition to these pests already mentioned, there is a list of approximately 70 species of exotic insects and mites that occur in soybean crops and which, according to the literature, if introduced into Brazil can cause significant damage to the crop. Furthermore, in a classification of exotic insects with potential for adaptation to soybeans in Brazil, published in 2012, only two species had a “high” level of importance, both belonging to the Agromyzidae Family and one of them “was” the soybean fly. stem of the soybean Melanagromyza longae (Diptera: Agromyzidae), this is because it is currently possible to state that this pest has already been found in Brazil and probably for longer than previously assumed.
The soybean stem fly M.syae is already a known pest on different continents, as it has a wide distribution in Asian countries and is present in parts of Russia, Australia and Spain, causing significant damage and causing great losses to soybean crops. In 2017, it was identified attacking alfalfa in Africa, more specifically in Sudan, causing significant losses to the crop. And its presence was recently confirmed in Paraguay and Bolivia.

In Brazil, the occurrence of leafminers damaging soybean stems was reported in 1983, more precisely in the southern states, but as there was no reference to the species and the data were still vague regarding its identification and the occurrences considered sporadic, the species M. Jáe was kept on the list of pests not yet present in the national territory.
However, in 2015, in the second soybean harvest, the occurrence of M.syae was confirmed by the team from the Integrated Pest Management Laboratory (Lab MIP) at the University of Santa Maria/Rio Grande do Sul in soybean crops in several locations in the South. and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) was officially notified of their presence. 
As for the Brazilian Cerrado, M.soyiae had not yet been reported, being considered by some institutions until recently as a pest not widespread in the country. But unfortunately this statement was not true and, to the surprise of many, it was found this year in several areas of the Cerrado of Goiano. The first finding of M.soyiae in the Brazilian Cerrado was verified by the team from the Integrated Pest Management Laboratory (Lab-MIP) of the School of Agronomy at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG), at the end of April 2018, in the municipality of Silvania , Goiás (Latitude: -16o 26' 6.33'', Longitude: -48o 50'4.22''), in an area of ​​223 hectares with volunteer soybeans (tiguera) in the reproductive phase with an infestation of approximately 100% of damaged plants and presence of stem fly larvae and pupae. Longitudinal cuts of the attacked plants helped to verify the presence of larvae and pupae, mixed with rotten stem tissue with a soft consistency and reddish brown color. Keep reading...

Cecilia Czepak 
Pablo C. Gontijo 
Matheus Le Senechal Nunes
 Lucas C.G. Silva 
Tiago R. Moraes 
Jordana R.S. de Morais 
Anna Lydhia S. Santos 
Aurelio A. Silva1 
School of Agronomy, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia/GO
Bruno de M. Ribeiro 
Afonso B. Lima 
Luis Henrique Kazuya 
Kasuya Agricultural Intelligence, Luiz Eduardo/BA
Julio C. de Souza
Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais, Technological Center of the South of Minas Gerais, Lavras/MG