Brazil ranks first in world passion fruit production, followed by Colombia and Indonesia (Altendorf, 2018). In 2017, Brazilian production was 548.088 tons, in 41.067 hectares of harvested area, with a yield of 13,3t/ha (IBGE, 2017). Bahia is the first producer, with 170.910 tons, ahead of the states of Ceará (94.816 tons), Santa Catarina (46.152 tons) and São Paulo (30.387 tons) (IBGE, 2017).
In Brazil, this crop has great socioeconomic importance, being mainly cultivated by family farmers on small and medium-sized properties. Despite the high investment for installation, it is a highly attractive crop, as it allows a short-term economic return and provides a long harvest period. Furthermore, it has a strong appeal to consumers, creating a high demand for the product due to its nutritional and pharmaceutical properties, among others. Passion fruit can be consumed fresh or in the form of concentrated pulp, widely used in the food processing industry.
Passion fruit is a plant that can be grown in tropical or subtropical climate conditions. It belongs to the Passifloraceae family and the genus Passiflora, with 140 species native to Brazil. However, the best known are the yellow or sour passion fruit (Passiflora Sims), the purple passion fruit (Passiflora Sims) and sweet passion fruit (Alata passionflower Curtis).
However, passion fruit production can be compromised and even rendered unfeasible as a result of phytosanitary problems, due to the occurrence of pests (insects, mites, diseases and nematodes) that affect the production and sale of fresh fruits. The effects of infestation by these pests can lead to the depreciation of the quality of the fruit, with a reduction in its commercial value, an increase in production costs due to the need for control, a drop in production and productivity and a reduction in the longevity of the planting, with consequent decreased profit and loss of plants due not only to direct and indirect damage caused by these organisms, as well as to the eradication of plants.
Direct damages, as the name suggests, are those resulting from the direct action of the organism on the plant or part of it, such as the consumption of leaves, flowers or other plant structures. Indirect damage occurs when an insect or mite, for example, in its feeding process, is capable of transmitting a disease-causing agent to the plant. In this case, the transmitted disease may represent an even greater threat than that caused by the insect or mite vector of the disease.
Several organisms are associated with passion fruit cultivation. However, many of them are not pests, as they do not cause economic damage. Some just visit the plants, since the passion fruit tree, due to the exuberance of its flowers, is a plant that attracts many insects. Some insects can even be natural enemies of pests, thus being beneficial organisms for the crop. The constant presence of bumblebees (plant pollinating insects) in the planting must also be considered.
On the other hand, symptoms of diseases or nematode attacks may not be noticed or, in some cases, confused with nutritional deficiencies or even other diseases, therefore making early identification difficult, which contributes to increased losses and costs. for your control.
All of the previously mentioned situations lead to fragility in the system. Given this scenario, integrated pest management (IPM) is essential, which advocates the association of different control methods (legislative, cultural, biological, genetic, chemical, plant resistance to insects, behavioral), as long as they are compatible and meet the requirements of economic, ecological and social criteria.
Therefore, the need to correctly identify the pest species that are present in the passion fruit orchard is clear. In turn, the best way to correctly identify the main pest organisms of the crop is to count on the collaboration of a taxonomy specialist. However, most of the time, the producer does not have this availability. Therefore, the intervention of a professional who has experience with the crop and the ability to recognize the main local pests, their correct identification, knowledge of their epidemiology and the main control methods is often necessary.
This task is made easier by comparing the organisms or symptoms present in the planting with photos of the pests available in technical publications. This was the main motivation that the team at Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura, Cruz das Almas, Bahia, found for the preparation of the “Guide for identification and control of pests in passion fruit cultivation” (https://bit.ly/2S2JAbZ) in 2017, in the form of a printed booklet.
The guide includes basic information about the main diseases, insects, mites and nematodes that occur in the main passion fruit producing areas. In this way, it facilitates the recognition of these pests depending on the damage caused and part of the attacked plant and the differentiation of symptoms caused by the most diverse causal agents. It also establishes which MIP strategies are the most suitable for reducing damage.
At its launch, the response to the printed guide from producers, technicians and students was very good, however some limitations were presented due to its use in the field. The main complaint from users was that use in the field was hampered, due to the need to print photos in high resolution to allow comparison with the pests found in the orchard. This represented a contradiction to the process, since the booklet is free precisely to enable free access by users. The need to print it (and in high resolution) practically made achieving this objective impossible.
This limitation prompted the Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura team to propose the development of an application that would enable the diagnosis and control of the main passion fruit pests, in real time.
It was an action of the project “Characterization and use of germplasm and genetic improvement of passion fruit (Passiflora spp.) aided by molecular markers - phase IV”. The construction of the application included the participation of professionals from Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura, Cruz das Almas, Bahia, Embrapa Cerrados, Planaltina, Distrito Federal, Embrapa Semiárido, Petrolina, Pernambuco, the Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia (UFRB), Cruz das Almas, Bahia, and the State University of Southwest Bahia (Uesb), Vitória da Conquista, Bahia.
This activity resulted in the launch of the AgroPragas Maracujá application in 2019. It is a cell phone application that basically provides the same information provided in the printed guide. Access to content is quick by consulting the topic of interest. The application provides information by category: fungi, bacteria, insects, viruses and nematodes. The main advantage of the application is that it can be used offline. It also allows the producer to compare photos of a pest or the symptom of a disease, taken in his orchard, with the images available in the application. The application is free and easy to use. It is available for download on Google Play (Figure 1): https://bit.ly/2VyPCDz. It is compatible with Android 4.1 (JELLY_BEAN) or higher.
In summary, here are the main features of the application:
1) Identification of the main passion fruit pests
2) Recommendations for integrated pest management
3) Search for specific pest information through images
4) Textual searches
5) Comparison of photos of each pest of interest and/or disease symptom found in the orchard with the images available in the application in real time and offline (Figure 2)
6) Access link to Agrofit (Phytosanitary Pesticides System)
The official launch of the application was made on the occasion of the Semiárido Show, in Petrolina (PE), held from 19 to 22 November 2019.
As the application is still in its first version, users are invited to evaluate its performance, suggesting the addition of new features and content updates.
The application replaces consulting printed content, saving time and paper, simplifying and speeding up the diagnosis or identification of pests. With correct identification, it is expected that decision-making regarding control methods will be made at the appropriate time and with low environmental impact strategies, contributing to the sustainability of the agroecosystem and more efficient control of each pest of interest.
Marilene Fancelli, Cristina de Fátima Machado, Murilo da Silva Crespo, Hermes Peixoto Santos Filho, Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura
With each new edition, Cultivar Hortaliças e Frutas publishes a series of technical content produced by renowned researchers from all over Brazil, which address the main difficulties and challenges encountered in the field by rural producers. Through research focused on controlling the main pests and diseases in vegetable and fruit cultivation, the Magazine helps farmers in the search for management solutions that increase their profitability. In the April/May edition you can also see:
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