Avocado pest control campaign in Mexico, Digi Mart USA News (Toluca, State of Mexico): The State of Mexico is one of 15 federal entities where the National Campaign against Regulated Avocado Pests, promoted by the National Service for Agri-Food Health, Safety and Quality (Senasica), is operating, with the aim of protecting national avocado production.
According to information from the agency, the strategy has enabled the certification of 243,926 hectares as free of avocado seed borers and branch borers, directly benefiting more than 94,000 small and medium-scale producers.
The campaign has also certified 103 municipalities and 12 agro-ecological zones as free of four pests: the avocado branch borer (Macrocopturus aguacatae), the small avocado seed borer (Conotrachelus perseae and C. aguacatae), the large avocado seed borer (Heilipus lauri) and the seed borer moth (Stenoma catenifer).
According to Senasica, these pests pose a risk to crops because their larvae feed on the avocado seed and tree branches, reducing orchard yields. The agency says that without proper phytosanitary management, damage can cause production losses of up to 90 percent.
In addition to the State of Mexico, the campaign is being carried out in Chiapas, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro and Veracruz.
The establishment of pest-free zones helps reduce production costs spent on control, improve avocado prices, and maintain and expand markets for commercialization.
Ultimately, the strategy aims to help protect national production, which reaches nearly three million tons of avocados per year.
