On 1 March, in order to ensure a successful
year of agriculture in 2021, the National Agricultural Technology Extension and
Service Center (NATESC) organized an expert network meeting in Beijing on the
technical solutions for the prevention and control of major crop diseases and
pests. The meeting closely focused on the requirements of Central Document No.
1 for 2021 to ensure national food security and effective supply of important
agricultural by-products.
The meeting also aims to continue to promote
pesticide reduction and environmentally friendly farming methods. The experts
attending the meeting will analyze the presence of major crop pests, including
as locusts, meadow borers and other major pests, and discussed to improve the
2021 annual crop major pest prevention. The experts will also analyze crop
diseases, including diseases of rice, wheat, corn, potatoes, cotton, fruit
trees, vegetables, tea and other crops. The program aims to provide important
technical support to minimise damage and bring about a good agricultural
harvest for the whole year, as well as to promote high quality and efficient
development of the planting industry.
Pest and
pest-related diseases ravage wheat, rice, and corn crops in China
According to
the China’s official website for the forecast and reporting of crop diseases
and insect pests, the presence of crop pests in wheat, rice, and corn crops has
increased by 14% compared to last year, which has caused risks for over 70% of
farming areas. Experts have recommended that farmers take immediate
precautionss in order to reduce damages and losses.
It is
estimated that wheat farmland damaged by pests and pest-related disease has
shown an increase of 13.8% YoY. Rice farmland damaged by pests and pest-related
disease has shown an increase of 12.6% YoY, and corn farmland damaged by pests
and pest-related disease has shown an increase of 13.4% YoY. Most corn farmland
in Huanghuaihai region and its southern regions were invaded by fall army
worms, among which the corn farmland in the southwest region and the southern
regions of China experienced the most damage by fall army worms.
Furthermore,
corn farmland south of the Yangtze river and in the middle and lower reaches of
the Yangtze river experienced medium damage. The corn farmland in Yangtze-Huaihe
region, Huang Huai area, the northwest region, as well as the north
region of China experienced light damage by fall army worms, and the south part
of the northeast region barely saw any damage by fall army worms. The estimated
corn farmland invaded by fall army worms was about 3.7 million hectares, with
corn farmland in the south of Yangtze river accounting for 80%.
China's crops threatened by potato blight and meadow
moths
In addition,
according to some experts, this year other pests and pest-related disease will
also occur in China. For example, late blight, a plant disease that causes
damage to potatoes, will become prevalent in the southwest region, the east
part of northwest region, northeast region and the north part of north region
of China. Regions of Inner Mongolia and the west part of the northeast region
of China will experience heavy damage from meadow moths, and there will also be
a risk of locusts from outside of China again spreading across the border in
the southwest.
For more information,
please check our resources on China’s
pesticides market.