The effect of pests in the Dominican Republic has been devastating in several particular examples in the last ten years, as shown by the case of Coffee Rust, the Mediterranean Fly and Black Sigatoka.
According to official historical data, starting in 2015 the Fruit Fly or Mediterranean Fly was present in the country, causing losses close to 40 million dollars between 2015 and 2017, when it was eradicated, after an arduous battle. The same thing happened with Coffee Rust, which at the end of 2010 caused the most damage to coffee crops, reducing production from 1 million quintals to 400 thousand quintals. In the case of Black Sigatoka, caused by a fungus called Mycosphaerella fijiensis, it affects the production of bananas, bananas and curls, reducing their production between 40 and 50 percent.
Now the concerns of producers, agribusiness owners, authorities and other sectors of society revolve around the ability to keep these pests under control and prevent their expansion to other areas of the country.
The most recent cases are the Fruit Fly (Ceratitis capitata) which is a tephritid insect and the Thrips (Thrips palmi Karny). In the case of the Mediterranean Fly or Fruit Fly, it is of high economic importance worldwide because it usually causes considerable losses to agriculture that range between 10% to 60% of fruit crops. This insect attacks more than 250 species of fruit and vegetable trees. Its main damage is caused by its larvae by feeding on the pulp of the fruit, causing its rotting and destruction. It can affect crops such as avocado, mango, most citrus fruits, guava, pears, vegetables such as eggplant, and others.
While Thrips are small insects that regularly cause growth deformations, death of terminal shoots of plants and drop of flowers and affect crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, onions, citrus fruits, alfalfa, tobacco, cotton, melon, watermelon, cucumber and zucchini, eggplant, paprika, beans and beans.
Although the level of impact that agriculture has on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is very low (barely 0.2% of GDP in 2022, according to calculations by the Central Bank in its Dominican Economy Report), however, It can be disastrous in terms of the country's food security due to the crops that may be affected and its impact on people's quality of life.
It should be noted that the Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD) in its XXIV Meeting of Leaders of the Agricultural Sector held in September of last year, made a series of recommendations to the Government, included in its report of conclusions, and which were delivered to the vice president of the República, Raquel Peña, related to the issue of pest control and management. These recommendations were the following: strengthen and expand the National Integrated Pest Management Program and create a Contingency Plan for quarantine pests that have not reached the Dominican Republic and are potential threats and that are present in the country; promote the creation of laboratories of beneficial organisms for the biological control of pests, as well as strengthen agricultural research on diseases and pests that are currently affecting the Dominican Republic or could affect.
Alarm for recent cases
The latent unrest in recent weeks is due to the alarm generated by the recent detected cases of the presence of the Mediterranean fly in Punta Cana and an outbreak of thrips in bean crops in the province of San Juan de la Maguana and tobacco crops in Cibao.
It is recalled that on January 9, the Ministry of Agriculture reported that the Mediterranean Fly, also known as the Fruit Fly, was located specifically in the Punta Corals. The entity reported that the captures of the Mediterranean Fly occurred, in the vicinity of the sea, in a circle with a radius of less than 500 meters, in two Jackson traps georeferenced at the coordinates X563673 Y205110, Punta Cana area.
Meanwhile, the thrips outbreak arose between the months of November and December, as a consequence of increased rainfall.
According to information offered to the media by the director of Plant Health of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rosa Lazala, this species of insect has not been investigated here, but she said that “the country is a member of the International Regional Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA) and that to eradicate it will be facilitated by technicians who do know this type of insect (in reference to thrips).”
The Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, highlighted that it has taken measures to prevent the expansion of the harmful insect and in that sense the minister, Limber Cruz, reported that the investigations carried out and the sites visited demonstrate that there is rigorous control of the plague.
“It was determined that it has not spread to other areas. There is no need to fear. “We have the situation very controlled, with very hard work by the technical and support staff of the Moscafruit RD program and other international experts,” declared the Minister of Agriculture when leading, last Wednesday, January 24, a supervision tour of the area where the Mediterranean fly was recently detected, with phytosanitary authorities from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the United States. During this tour, they collected information about the real situation of the pest and took the necessary measures for its eradication. Within the framework of that visit to the Corals of Punta Cana, the director of Plant Health of the Ministry of Agriculture, indicated that “the fly remains within the same perimeter of the place where it was detected and captures in the traps have decreased.”
Lazala reported that sterile males will soon be arriving in the country, as part of the protocol to end the small infestation of the pest and thus completely eradicate the Fruit Fly. He explained that, among other preventive measures, fruit collection, product expertise, sampling of possible incidents, sending tests to the laboratory, tree pruning, cleaning, placing new traps and other work within the established protocol are carried out.
While the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) through its technical cabinet requested that the situation be declared in a state of emergency. “The phytosanitary panorama of the country is of extreme concern due to the different pests that affect important crops. We put our technicians at the disposal of the Government to work on solving these problems,” said Geovanny Arias, coordinator of the PLD technical cabinet. Furthermore, he said that The merciless attack of the insect called Thrips on legume plantations has decreased productivity in the San Juan area by 75% in crops.considering it a mortal blow to the area's producers. Arias also revealed that tobacco producers in the Cibao area reported the presence of this insect in the area, causing a 25% decrease in production.
Thrips has caused damage to around 115,000 bean fields in San Juan
On the other hand, the PLD technical cabinet also warned that in the Eastern region of the country there is talk of the presence of Achatina Fulica, popularly known as the Giant Snail, a pest that can attack more than 50 crops.
“In relation to the new presence of the Mediterranean Fly, it is due to the lack of phyto-zoo sanitary controls in ports, airports and border points. The gloomy panorama is combined with the absence of highly trained professional technicians and the abandonment of the 63% traps required for the detention and control of these pests,” Arias said in a press conference.
Excursions.- Thrips, which is similar to a spider, devours the flowers of crops, preventing the production of pods and can affect up to 50% of bean production.
The director of the Department of Plant Health of the Ministry of Agriculture said that in the country no research has been done for this type of thrips species detected in San Juan de la Maguana, however, she highlighted that for other types of thrips species there has been. has been investigated. The official also indicated that this thrips, which has recently been detected in the Dominican Republic, is present in all Central American countries.
