Caterpillars cause R$1 billion in losses to farmers.
Helicoverpa is more common in cornfields, but it has started attacking crops such as soybeans and cotton and has become the subject of a meeting scheduled for this Monday (11) in Brasília, which should have representatives of producers, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Civil House; the most affected region is the West.
Bahia 247
Once familiar to Brazilian producers but considered practically harmless, the Helicoverpa caterpillar has become a nightmare for soybean and cotton crops, according to an article in Valor Econômico.
According to the publication, the caterpillar is at the center of a phytosanitary crisis that has already led farmers in western Bahia, where the situation is most serious, to spend around R$ 1 billion trying to eradicate the pest in the last two harvests. Nationally, the estimated cost is around R$ 2 billion.
Helicoverpa is more common in cornfields, but it has started attacking crops such as soybeans and cotton and has become the subject of a meeting scheduled for this Monday (11) in Brasília, which should have representatives of producers, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Civil House.
One of the objectives of the meeting is to outline strategies to prevent the problem from spreading to other states, in addition to the 11 already affected.