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Alert about pest threatening crops in Central America

San Salvador, Oct 9 (Prensa Latina) The International Regional Agricultural Health Organization (Oirsa) warned about the dangers facing El Salvador and other nations, due to the presence of the Central American locusts and the giant grasshopper.

The organization recommended that the countries of the area pay maximum attention to the development of pests, whose presence can cause havoc in the crops. According to data, the emergence of 80 million specimens of Central American locusts can consume up to 100 tons of crops daily.

These insects can spread across fields in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, where the organization called for attention as they can cause serious damage to staple grains and vegetable crops.

In El Salvador, the incursion of these Orthoptera would be catastrophic when the country is experiencing substantial declines in the production of basic grains and vegetables.

The warning from Oirsa noted that the climatic conditions this year were conducive to the appearance of these pests, since a stage of five months of drought was passed to a period of intense rains.

These insects can migrate more than 150 kilometres a day and attack basic grain crops and 400 plant species during their journey.

According to experts, it consumes between 70% and 100% of its weight in fresh material. The international organization explained that both orthoptera are polyphaggous. The Central American locusts feeds on basic and fruit crops such as mango, citrus, banana, avocado, and the giant grasshopper is of arboreal habit and can feed on palms, forest trees.

Statistics assure that the region recorded the presence of Central American locusts in 2020.

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