Monitoring is essential for controlling fruit flies in orchards

The fruit fly, one of the main threats to fruit growing worldwide, has haunted Brazilian producers. A Ceratitis capitata, or Mediterranean fly, is considered the species that causes the most damage and losses in orchards, as it easily adapts to different regions and climates. She lays her eggs in the developing fruits, the larvae break out of the houses and feed on the pulp, making the product unviable for sale.

One of the alternatives that producers have invested in to control the pest is the permanent monitoring of risk areas, using traps, which act as a natural attraction for the insect. “Monitoring is essential and must be carried out in all orchards with fruit trees that host fruit flies. It allows us to understand the population fluctuation of the pest at different times of the year and identify the areas of greatest manifestation”, stated the president of the Instituto da Fruta do Vale do São Francisco, Ivan Pinto da Costa.

According to him, solidarity monitoring can be considered the crop's thermometer, which should guide control actions, whether cultural, chemical, biological, mass collection, Sterile Insect Technique (TIE) and quarantine. “Trap inspections must occur weekly and control measures must be applied when the MAD index (Fly/Trap/Day) is equal to or greater than 0,25. All fruit growers, regardless of whether they produce fruit for the domestic or foreign market, need to know the importance of individual control actions, carried out by each of them, to obtain a satisfactory collective result”, highlighted Costa.

The matter was discussed at the joint meeting of the Sectoral Chamber of the Fruit Production Chain of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) and the National Fruit Growing Commission of the Brazilian Agricultural Confederation (CNA), this Tuesday (27/09 ), in Brasilia. On the occasion, the representatives also discussed advances in the National Fruit Fly Control Program, the current stage of registration of pesticides forminor crops and the objective of the Scientific Committee on Safe Fruits and Vegetables: HORTIFRUTI – Knowledge and Health.

The president of the Sector Chamber, Luiz Roberto Barcelos, explained the importance of the Scientific Committee for the recognition of horticulture as a sector with high technical credibility in Brazil. The collegiate is formed by a group of researchers, specialists from the private sector, and government representatives, to work on solutions to challenges in the production chain. “We will map the main movements of stakeholders, aiming to anticipate risks and increase the safety of horticulture in the country,” said Barcelos.

The president of the CNA Commission, Tom Prado, spoke about the extension of use and registration of active ingredients for the manufacture of agricultural pesticides for small crops (minor crops). Today, there are products already released for some crops that are not permitted for application in crops that do not yet have specific molecules. “Some pesticides used on mangos to combat fruit flies are prohibited for other crops, such as acerola and melon. Many properties have two or more different productions in the same area, if the use of pesticides is done correctly for the entire property, why allow it for one crop and not another?”, highlighted Prado.