Major Wheat Diseases and Pests at the Ear Stage Recurring Severely; the Ministry of Agriculture Further Deploys Prevention and Control
Website news At present, wheat in major production areas such as the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Huang-Huai-Hai region has successively entered the booting and heading stages, which is not only an important period for yield formation but also a critical period for the occurrence and control of diseases and pests. On April 13, the Ministry of Agriculture held an on-site meeting on the prevention and control of major wheat ear-stage diseases and pests in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, requiring all localities to focus on the prevention and control of wheat scab and aphids, make every effort to fight the tough battle of disease and pest prevention and control in the late wheat stage, strive to “snatch grain from the mouth of pests,” and strive for the first battle of the summer grain harvest to be won.
This year, affected by unfavorable factors such as higher winter and spring temperatures and above-normal precipitation, major diseases and pests such as wheat scab and aphids have shown a severe recurrence trend, and the prevention and control situation is extremely grim. From mid-April to mid-May is the critical period for the occurrence and harm of major wheat ear-stage diseases and pests, an important period for wheat yield formation, and also the best period for the prevention and control of wheat ear-stage diseases and pests. The Ministry of Agriculture requires that agricultural departments at all levels and their plant protection agencies quickly enter a state of readiness and resolutely win the tough battle of wheat ear-stage disease and pest prevention and control. Adhere to the principles of classified guidance and scientific prevention and control, highlight key regions and major diseases and pests, take the implementation of the subsidy policy for wheat “one spray, three preventions” and the special project for unified prevention and control of major diseases and pests as the starting point, extensively mobilize and launch, strengthen service guidance, implement key measures, vigorously promote specialized unified prevention and control and green prevention and control, carry out emergency control in a timely manner, and ensure that wheat stripe rust, scab, and aphids do not break out into disaster over large areas, that disease and pest damage losses are controlled within 5%, that the rate of scab-infected ears is controlled within 5%, that the rate of diseased grains is controlled within 1%, and that the specialized unified prevention and control rate reaches above 32%.
In response to the severe situation of major wheat ear-stage diseases and pests, the Ministry of Agriculture organized the “Spring Disease and Pest Control for a Bumper Harvest Action” to increase efforts, strengthen measures, and promote the vigorous and orderly development of disease and pest prevention and control.
First, effectively implement policies. Give full play to the guiding and driving role of specialized unified prevention and control of diseases and pests and the subsidy funds for “one spray, three preventions,” and actively seek matching local financial investment. Through the implementation of subsidy policies, professional service organizations and farmers should be united, vigorously carry out unified prevention and control of diseases and pests, effectively do a good job in joint prevention and joint control in source areas, severe recurrence areas, and migration and epidemic transition zones of major diseases and pests, and strive to suppress the momentum of severe recurrence and epidemic spread of wheat diseases and pests.
Second, effectively carry out monitoring and early warning. Plant protection agencies in all localities should go deep into the fields, comprehensively strengthen field surveys, strengthen systematic monitoring, accurately grasp the dynamics of major wheat diseases and pests, closely track the wheat growth process, timely consult and analyze development trends according to weather changes, and timely issue forecast and early warning information to ensure timely and effective control.
Third, effectively carry out scientific prevention and control. For wheat stripe rust, firmly grasp “carry medicine for investigation, discover one point, control one area” to protect the surface through point control, and strictly prevent large-scale expansion and epidemic; in areas where wheat scab frequently occurs, adhere unswervingly to “prevention first, proactive attack, spray when flowers appear” to ensure prevention before occurrence and epidemic; for aphids, highlight “move the pass forward, suppress the front and control the rear” to control the base population, and strictly prevent outbreak damage at the ear stage. It is necessary to scientifically select pesticides and rotate medications, and strive to improve the effectiveness of disease and pest control and the effective utilization rate of pesticides. Adhere to combining disease and pest prevention and control with lodging prevention and dry hot wind prevention to achieve one spray with multiple preventions and multiple effects in one action.
⟦NL> Fourth, effectively carry out unified prevention and control. Vigorously promote large and medium-sized efficient plant protection machinery such as self-propelled sprayers and drones, and develop a number of fast and efficient disease and pest control service organizations. Vigorously promote the integration of unified disease and pest prevention and control with green prevention and control, create a number of integrated promotion demonstration bases, and accelerate the integration, demonstration, and promotion of full-process green prevention and control technical models. Strengthen technical training and guidance services for service organizations to improve their scientific control and operation management levels.
Fifth, effectively carry out supervision and guidance. Agricultural departments at all levels should organize agency cadres and relevant experts to go deep into the front line of wheat disease and pest prevention and control, adopt division of areas with responsibility assigned to individuals, carry out guidance services “face to face and hand in hand,” strengthen supervision and inspection, and ensure that prevention and control measures are implemented in place and prevention and control technologies are applied in the fields.
The Ministry of Agriculture emphasized that all localities should vigorously organize and implement the action to achieve zero growth in pesticide use by 2020. While controlling disease and pest damage to the lowest degree to achieve pest control and stabilize grain production, they should reduce the number of control operations and the amount of pesticide use, improve the quality and safety level of agricultural products, and achieve quality improvement and efficiency enhancement.
