Mexico :Sugarcane producers fighting plague after heavy rain
Agriculture officials in Othón P. Blanco, Quintana Roo, are addressing severe damage to over 7,000 hectares of sugarcane caused by a combination of bacteria and fungi, primarily Fusarium. Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa, along with officials and sugarcane associations, toured the affected fields. Efforts are underway to mitigate the outbreak and save the 2024-2025 harvest, with ongoing consultations and trial treatments to combat the infestation.
Othón P. Blanco, Q.R. — State agriculture officials have toured southern sugarcane fields left heavily damaged by rain. Officials were in the southwestern region of Sacxán where they investigated fields infected by fungi and bacteria.
Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa was part of the recent tour along with personnel from the Secretariat of Agricultural, Rural and Fisheries Development to seek a prompt solution and stop the plague of a combination of fungi and bacteria.about:blank
The verification visit was made to the most affected plots where the Secretariat, Jorge Aguilar Osorio, was accompanied by representatives of the sugar cane associations in the state, Benjamín Gutiérrez Reyes, President of the National Confederation of Rural Producers (CNPR), as well as Sergio Crisanto Morteo, representing Evaristo Gómez Díaz, leader of the Local Union of Sugar Cane Growers.
More than 7,000 hectares of sugarcane was found with a combination of bacteria and fungi, mainly Fusarium, which causes the sugarcane to dry out, turning a reddish color inside and eliminating the sucrose.
“With the creation of the Interinstitutional Committee for the particular attention of sugarcane production in Quintana Roo, the clear objective is to contain and even eliminate the Fusarium fungus from the 7,000 hectares of affected crop,” officials said.
They are hoping to save the 2024-2025 harvest production, said Jorge Aguilar, the Secretary of Agricultural, Rural and Fisheries Development for Quintana Roo.
Rural producers are working with state officials to draw up the paths to follow and as soon as possible, begin to control and mitigate the pest, he said. Aguilar said they are in the trial-and-error phase, consultations with experts and awaiting the final results from specialized laboratories to combat the problem.
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