Apronoir, the College of Agricultural Engineers and Zootechnicians of the province, the CREA NOA Region groups and the Rural Society of Tucumán will work with representatives of the productive areas of the Government.
Due to the serious problems caused by spiroplasma – commonly known as corn stunt -, transmitted by the insect Dalbulus maidis or leafhopper, the different grain productive sectors of the country have been meeting to have a real diagnosis of the disease and to organize. , with research organizations and with the provincial and national governments, to find tools and mechanisms to confront it.
In the case of Tucumán, the Association of Agricultural and Livestock Producers of the North (Apronor), the College of Agricultural Engineers and Zootechnicians of Tucumán (Ciazt), the Regional Consortiums of Agricultural Experimentation (CREA) NOA Region and the Rural Society of Tucumán ( SRT) formed the Save the Corn Committee.
This group has been working since the disease became serious to diagnose it. Simultaneously they met with the secretary of Productive Development of the province, Eduardo Castroto incorporate this problem into the agenda, and present the local situation in the meetings held by the authorities of all the regions affected by the disease in Rafaela, Santa Fe.
Castro said that the meeting in Rafaela served to agree on ideas and strategies to manage the stunting of corn. “We agreed to sign a joint declaration to join forces in the face of the unexpected outbreak of the disease that seriously affected the cultivation of corn in our regions, and to give the productive sector the necessary tools for what is urgent and important,” summarized the official.
He stressed that the work of the productive sector, which communicates what it has been suffering, together with the technical support of the private sector, is vital. “The research work carried out by the Obispo Colombres Agroindustrial Experimental Station (Eeaoc), the Lillo Foundation and the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (Conicet) are added, which study the disease and its vector to find management strategies,” he said. .
Laura Carabaca, from the CREA Region NOA Groups, indicated that the sector faces a serious problem, from which it can only be solved with the joint work of public and private organizations. “Tucumán took an important step, since a group of institutions that bring together producers and technicians got together to work; and those efforts will bear fruit in the short term. We producers must be listened to and this problem requires a lot of work,” he pointed out.
Regarding insect pressure, he pointed out that CREA and the EEAOC are doing the monitoring. “The current population and level of infections has never really been seen. The maximum reported had been 10%; and in February we were already at 30%; “This percentage is very likely higher today,” she said.
Lucas Cazado, from CREA el Rodeo, considered that this is a problem that surpasses any institution. “No one can solve it alone. The sum of experience helps to understand the problem and propose actions; and the union between the different actors will generate possible solutions to this problem,” he stated.
The president of the SRT, Jose Frias Silva (h), stressed that corn in the province and in the region – both in terms of grain and forage production – are very affected, to different degrees. “You need to work quickly and efficiently to achieve solutions. Everything that this committee needs in information from producers must be granted to have a real diagnosis and, in this way, find a way to manage it properly,” he indicated.
Its Apronor counterpart, Gonzalo Blasco, also considered that this serious situation can only be overcome with joint work between public and private organizations. “Producers are suffering from this leafhopper problem; and we can provide the data required by those who investigate and make decisions, to diagnose the situation,” he said.
Macarena Ramos, also from Apronor, highlighted that the disease and its vector are a problem that is here to stay. “The scenario calls for stopping and reorganizing in order to have a productive projection, which implies adopting short and medium-term measures,” she pointed out.
The potential for damage generates the urgent need for joint work between the members of the cereal production chain. The urgency of articulated action is not discussed, NOA producers need governmental and institutional support to implement measures in the field that not only focus on managing the problem, but also its continuity within the system.
The stunting of corn and its lethal blow to production comes at a time when producers are struggling to stay within a scheme, suffocated by tax pressures, by the lack of competitiveness, by high production costs; and in a region that has been suffering from negative climatic influence during successive campaigns.
Juan José Marto, president of Ciazt, said that the management of the disease, which is causing many headaches for producers, requires purely technical actions to reduce the density of the leafhopper population. “This, added to political actions that allow productive organization and that generate tools linked to having specific inputs and incentives, that allow us to continue producing corn in another way,” he said. And he highlighted the importance and preponderance that the agronomist should have: “Not only in the responsibility of monitoring crops, but also in a network of professionals distributed throughout the territory, as a quick source of consultation and participation in decision-making. decisions.”
