This week the Costa Rican Agriculture & Livestock Ministry’s State Phytosanitary Services (SFE) declared a national crop emergency for bananas – one of the country’s most important agricultural exports. In 2012 Costa Rica exported 1.2 million tons of fresh bananas at a value in excess of $815 million. The declaration is in response to mealy bugs and scale insects damaging approximately 24,000 hectares of banana fields in the country’s Atlantic growing regions. The pest problem has been accelerating for the past ten years and scientists state that climate change has played a major role in the pest’s proliferation. Climate changes have affected temperatures and changes in rain patterns under which the pests reproduce. Upwards of 20% of the country’s banana exports could be rejected because of quality concerns caused by scale insects. Farmers are looking into biological control agents such as other bugs and the pesticides buprofezin and bifenthrin.
To receive relevant news stories with summaries provided by GAI Research & Insight, subscribe to Global AgDevelopments, our free bi-weekly enhanced eNews service