Abapa initiates educational blitzes against the cotton boll weevil.

With the cotton harvest progressing in western Bahia, the Bahia Cotton Producers Association (Abapa) began, this Tuesday (July 7th), its annual schedule of educational blitzes "One For All. All Against the Boll Weevil". Held on BR-020, in Luís Eduardo Magalhães (BA), in partnership with the Bahia Agricultural Defense Agency (Adab) and the Military Police, the initiative guided transporters on the necessary precautions when transporting rolls, bales, seed cotton and crop residues, reducing the risk of spreading the cotton boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis), the main pest of Brazilian cotton farming.

Improper transportation can cause pits and debris to fall along the roadsides, favoring the emergence of volunteer plants, known as tigueras. These plants serve as hosts for the boll weevil, compromising phytosanitary efforts to control the pest in crops.

During the initiative, seven trucks passed through the guidance point. Some of them were already properly covering their cargo with tarpaulins. In the remaining cases, the Abapa technical team and Adab inspectors provided recommendations on correct packaging, reinforcing best practices for safe transportation.

"It was an awareness campaign, and the drivers understood the purpose. We are at the beginning of the harvest season and the flow of trucks is still small, but we believe that this awareness work will begin to resonate among the transporters themselves," says the manager of the Phytosanitary Program at Abapa, Giorge Gomes.

The schedule includes new editions.

This was the first educational blitz of the 2025/2026 harvest, carried out ten days earlier than the schedule adopted in the previous cycle. New editions are planned for the coming weeks, following the increase in cotton traffic on the region's highways.

The transportation of cotton and its residues must comply with the provisions of State Law No. 10.434/2006 and Decree No. 11.414/2009, which establish, among other measures, the proper covering of trucks with tarpaulins and the cleaning of vehicles after unloading. These measures contribute to preventing the spread of the cotton boll weevil and preserving the health of Bahia's crops.