Senasa authorities have declared a state of phytosanitary alert throughout Argentina regarding the pest commonly known as the "gypsy moth" that usually attacks fruit and forestry production.
La Resolution 130 / 2018 Published this Thursday (19.4.2018) in the Official Gazette with the signature of Ricardo Negri, indicates that the insect is a "quarantine species absent in the country, highly polyphagous, being reported on more than 600 species of forestry and fruit importance, also presenting a high reproduction rate, which would cause serious damage to forestry-agricultural production due to the defoliation it could cause."
The plague is present only in the Northern Hemisphere, so, The areas with the highest risk of entry into Argentina are the ports and their surrounding areas "where vessels that have stopped in areas where the pest is present in the last 24 months arrive."
In this framework, from now on "all national, provincial or municipal authorities, researchers, producers, public institutions, private or official institutions whose responsibility is to carry out tasks in the phytosanitary area or any other related area, as well as owners, possessors or holders of the properties, port terminals and/or squares, which detects the presence or suspected damage of the pest Lymantria dispar Asian race, you are obliged to report it immediately, through the Argentine National Pest Surveillance and Monitoring System (Sinavimo).”
Once the appearance, existence or suspicion of the plague has been reported, agents of the Senasa "will proceed to take the necessary precautions" and to order mandatory enforcement measures, being able to prohibit, order quarantines, confiscate, delimit zones and/or establish actions that, according to the biological cycle of the pest, are necessary to adopt in order to achieve its eradication."
The insect is also highly polyphagous (it feeds on many and diverse plants, especially trees) and has a high reproduction rate. These characteristics make it a high-risk pest. potential danger from an environmental, ecological and productive point of viewIt also represents a danger to humans since the larvae are stinging and can cause allergies.
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