Mapa participates in simulation to prevent the entry of pests that affect bananas

Banana growers, specialists and technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply and agencies from six states participated in a simulation to test and evaluate the procedures to be adopted in suspected cases of the pest's entry Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense tropical race 4 (FOC R4T), which affects banana production.

The simulation began on November 26th and ends this Thursday (28th), in Corupá/SC, and is part of the measures to prevent the disease from entering Brazil. Since confirming the occurrence of FOC R4T in Colombia, Mapa has been working to prevent the entry of the pest. 

Promoted by the Santa Catarina Integrated Agricultural Development Company (Cidasc), with the support of the Mapa Agricultural Defense Secretariat, the objective of the initiative is to subsidize the contingency actions that will be established by the National Prevention and Surveillance Plan for the FOC R4T pest. . The plan will soon be submitted to public consultation, within the scope of the  Absent Quarantine Pest Prevention and Surveillance Program of the Department of Plant Health and Agricultural Inputs.

The simulations, carried out in the field, involve local banana farmers, with the participation of Embrapa specialist, Miguel Dita, technicians from Mapa and the state Agricultural Defense bodies of Bahia, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Santa Catarina and of Rio Grande do Sul.

Tropical race 4 of the fungus is a more aggressive variation of the already known “Panama disease” or “Banana fusariosis”. There are still no resistant varieties or viable chemical management for control. Therefore, the entry of this pest into the country would represent major losses for banana producers, with a high socioeconomic impact for Brazil.