Avocado crop pest threat in Mexico, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): Pests affecting avocado crops could cause losses of up to 90% of production if phytosanitary measures are not applied, the Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural warned. The federal ministry is running a surveillance and control campaign in 15 states to protect an industry that produces close to three million tons annually.
Through the National Campaign Against Avocado Pests, 243,926 hectares, equivalent to 93% of the cultivated area in Mexico, are certified as zones free of seed and branch borers. The actions, coordinated with the Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria (Senasica), benefit more than 94,000 small and medium producers who depend on crop health to maintain production and sales.
According to the ministry, the main phytosanitary threats are seed and branch borers, whose larvae feed on different parts of the tree and the fruit. The department warned that without proper management, these organisms can considerably reduce orchard yields and cause losses of up to nine out of every ten fruits produced in affected areas.
For this reason, authorities are carrying out inspections, sampling and controls to prevent pests from spreading to other producing regions. The ministry said 103 municipalities and 12 agroecological zones have so far received recognition as areas free of the main regulated avocado pests.
The ministry said this certification reduces costs associated with pest control, protects fruit quality and maintains the sanitary conditions needed to sell avocados in Mexico and international markets. To obtain recognition, producers must comply with standards NOM-069-FITO-1995 and NOM-066-FITO-1995, which set phytosanitary surveillance and control procedures.
Pest-free zone declarations are valid for 24 months, during which producers must maintain surveillance, sampling and prevention measures. Senasica will also supervise Internal Verification Points, which are tasked with preventing pests from entering previously certified regions.
Agriculture Secretary Columba Jazmín López Gutiérrez said these actions aim to protect the incomes of more than 94,000 producers and preserve the sanitary conditions that allow Mexican avocados to be sold. With these measures, the federal government seeks to reduce risks to a strategic agricultural activity whose annual output approaches three million tons and depends on phytosanitary control to remain competitive.
