Secretariat of Agriculture participates in training in Argentina on locust control

The efficient and safe control of locust clouds is on the agenda of the meeting of the technical group of the Mercosur Plant Health Committee (Cosave), in Tucumán, Argentina. Agricultural inspectors from the Department of Plant Defense (DDV) of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development (Seapdr) are participating in training to monitor and control clouds of migratory locusts (Schistocerca cancellata), at the invitation of SENASA (Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria) of Argentina.

The training takes place between October 31st and November 28th, through SENASA's virtual platform, with class videos, technical meetings and assessments. The practical activities took place on November 16th and 17th in the Argentine city of San Miguel de Tucumán, in the Province of Tucumán, chosen because it is on the locust's migratory circuit.

“Participation in this meeting is essential so that the State Agricultural Defense is prepared to act in the event of the occurrence of gregarious migratory locusts at risk of entering the State”, highlights Ricardo Felicetti, director of the DDV at Seapdr.

Public and private agents working in the area of ​​agricultural defense in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay participate in the activities. The practical training included lectures by local technicians and aeroapplicators, demonstration and calibration of equipment used to control and simulate the occurrence of the pest in a location with a history of clouds in 2020. The person responsible for the training, the general coordinator of Emergencies and Contingencies of the SENASA, Hector Emilio Medina, assesses that the participation of all South American countries is essential for the success in monitoring and controlling the pest throughout the macro-region.

“Our participation in the training is essential to get to know the South American grasshopper and understand the difficulties in monitoring and controlling clouds. With the practical part held in Tucumán, we had the opportunity to talk to the greatest experts on the subject, people who work in monitoring and controlling this pest, in addition to being able to see the equipment used in control”, highlights the state agricultural inspector of Itaqui, Juliano Goulart Ritter.

For André Ebone, state agricultural inspector of Horizontina, participation in training is very important, to have the ability to easily manage a phytosanitary emergency situation. “We saw that we are aligned in many aspects, especially in application technology. What we lacked was experience about the habits of migratory locusts, so it was possible to share and learn from people who are really on the front line of this problem.”

The case of 2020

Rio Grande do Sul, in 2020, was under threat from the entry of a cloud of South American migratory locusts (Schistocerca cancellata), which was located in the Argentine city of Federación, Province of Santa Fé, about 100 km from the west in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The risk of the locust cloud entering Brazil at that time required that a Phytosanitary Emergency be declared due to the high destructive power to agricultural crops. For two months, the neighboring country monitored, located and controlled approximately 10 locust clouds. Due to the proximity of this cloud to Brazil, the Ministry of Agriculture published MAPA Ordinance nº 201, on 24/06/20, declaring a phytosanitary emergency. And, on 29/06/2020, MAPA Ordinance nº 208 was published, detailing the plan to suppress the pest in case of entry into the country. The Department of Agriculture published Normative Instruction No. 17/2020, with the emergency plan to control the pest.

“For more than two months we monitored the Argentine cloud, as there was an imminent risk of entry into the Western Border of Rio Grande do Sul, as it was less than a hundred kilometers away, which can be covered in just one day by the gregarious”, recalls Felicetti. The estimated extent of the cloud was 30 km2, with potential losses calculated between R$ 1 and 3 million per day of infestation, depending on the affected crop. During the monitoring period, joint activities were carried out with the defense bodies of Argentina and Uruguay.

Clouds of South American migratory locusts Schistocerca cancellata are events triggered in cyclical migratory phases that last 8 to 15 years. Therefore, the risk of occurrences in Argentine territory and entry into Brazil still exists. Years with less rainfall favor the dispersion of the species during its migratory phase to our territory, and recent harvests have been characterized by water deficit. “Due to the potential for losses of the pest and the risk of occurrence over the next few years, the presence of the State Agricultural Defense at this event is essential, to qualify the surveillance work and exchange experiences in monitoring and controlling the pest”, states the director of DDV.