National Center for Agricultural Health Exceeds Bioinsecticide Production

Mayabeque, Cuba: The workers of the National Center for Agricultural Health (CENSA) made the most of the days from March to October and while the COVID-19 epidemic stalked the province, they managed to comply with the BionemC production plan,  a bioinsecticide capable of controlling more than 200 pests in the field.

The technician in Plant Protection and Plant Quarantine, Roberto Enrique Regalado, said that the production plan for Entomopathogenic Nematodes, established by the center and the Directorate of Plant Health, is 860 bags per year, but due to the need to support the food production, more than 1000 bags were overfilled.

Most of the product was destined to the National Institute of Tropical Foods (INIVIT) to control pests in cucumber, squash and sweet potato, to the Center for the reproduction of Entomophages and Entomopathogens (CREE) of Batabanó and to farmers belonging to that municipality.

BionemC is also used in crops where the pest is in the larval stage; although due to its effectiveness it can also deworm adult larvae.

Enrique Regalado added that the cooled strain has been provided to the CREEs of Santa Cruz del Norte, Quivicán and Aguacate and that during the period technical advice and training to producers and reproduction centers of entomophages and entomopathogens that have the strain.

According to the website of this scientific center, in the coming months, the production will be destined to the chosen spaces with experimental plots for the control of Thrips in beans. For this, we work in three scenarios in which CENSA will be contributing science to obtain better returns.