​The danger of mysterious seed packages received by the Post Office

In recent days, the arrival of packages with seeds in Brazil via the Post Office has caused perplexity and great apprehension. Let's just imagine that if these little packages containing seeds, coming from Asia, without a sender and addressed to people who did not request them, were delivered and received without going through agricultural sanitary inspection, without any action by agricultural sanitary defense inspectors (municipal, state or federal) , to understand the risks. Who can guarantee that we are not facing the potential risk of a tremendous economic, social and environmental disaster?

The situation will become even more serious if recipients have no idea of ​​the real risks. At this time, awareness and prevention projects are even more important, such as the Planting Potatoes with Science, which focuses on teaching children about scientific research concepts and procedures, with the aim of building potential scientists from childhood, with awareness of the importance of “plant health defense”

If the packages containing (clandestine) seeds are received by people who have not undergone any guidance, they can be opened and the seeds planted. If opened, planted and the developed plants are carriers of a new virus, we could be facing yet another “silent” disaster, yet another “invisible” and “uncontrollable” enemy.

It is easy for one or more (latent) viruses to occur, which cause weak symptoms that are difficult to recognize visually in these plants and do not show the same behavior in other native or cultivated species in Brazil. Strong, evident and destructive symptoms can be observed if they are transmitted, for example, by aphids or whiteflies and infect vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, orchards, cotton plantations, coffee, sugar cane and alcohol, soybeans, beans , rice...

Here is the message from a  phytovirologist: alert, alert, alert!!