SAO PAULO
,
July 1, 2022
(press release)
–
Biological control project of the wood wasp began in the 1980s and dispenses with the use of chemicals Committed to the sustainable development of its forests, Klabin, the largest producer and exporter of packaging paper and sustainable solutions in paper packaging in Brazil, works in integrated pest management (MIP), supporting and developing biological control techniques. About 30 years ago, the Company was one of the first to join the then National Fund for the Control of Wood Wasp (today, National Forest Pest Control Fund - Funcema), in which several companies in the forestry sector worked, together with Embrapa Florestas, to improve wood wasp control techniques (Sirex noctilio ), an exotic species, which at the time invaded the plantations of pine stifers in Brazil and had no natural enemies. As a result, the partnership provided the introduction of two main biological control systems of the pest, one through the use of a nematode (Deladenus siricidicola), which, injected into the wood, comes into contact with the larvae of the pest, sterilizing them, and, consequently, reducing their propagation. The other through monitoring and field release of natural enemies, such as Ibalia leucospoides and Megarhyssa nortony, introduced in Brazil in the mid-1990s. Wood wasp The results of these actions are observed over the years, proven through successful pest control. As a demonstration of this synergy of success, Embrapa Florestas recently published a letter of thanks regarding these more than three decades of partnership, highlighting the contribution and technical development of several actions aimed at controlling the wood wasp, maintaining the natural balance of the environment, ensuring the sustainability of the Company's forest production. In the document, the institution mentions the importance of applying these techniques, highlighting that the company has the first record of the natural presence of Megarhyssa nortony in forest plantations, located in the Otacílio Costa Unit, since 2015, and that has been increasing its presence since then. In addition to Megarhyssa, for another decade, the parasitism of the plague is also identified by the presence of Ibalia, an insect that combined with the annual application of the nematode controls the pest by more than 90%. The integrated management system, a concept that uses control practices applied in cost/benefit analysis strategies, considers the impact on forest productivity, society and the environment. The method is adopted by Klabin in order to seek more rational and efficient strategies in the protection of plants against pests and forest diseases, through genetic and biological control and, as a last alternative, rarely used, the use of chemical. The project in partnership with Embrapa Florestas and Funcema fits the biological model, using the use of natural enemies of pests, created and multiplied in the laboratory, in order to perform the control in a more sustainable way in the medium and long term. The results obtained prove the success of the initiative, reducing the average mortality of pine caused by the wood wasp in Brazilian pine plantations from 60% to less than 1%, contributing to reduce the losses caused by the pest in the regions where Klabin is inserted. According to Bruno Afonso Magro, Klabin's Manager of Forest Research and Development, the document issued by Embrapa Florestas reinforces the fact that the introduction, incentive, development and use of biological control techniques, combined with the sustainable management adopted by the Company, have assisted in the natural development of this and other beneficial insects in the regions where the company operates, ensuring the maintenance of planting productivity. "Biological control becomes more feasible and efficient when compared to other options, in the medium and long term, ensuring the maintenance of productivity in a sustainable way and causing less impact to the environment. For more than two decades, through monitoring and control, it is possible to affirm that this pest is controlled in Klabin's forests," he says. #Embrapa #Controledepragas #Vespa
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