Major crop pests and diseases will occur at above-normal levels nationwide in the second half of the year
On July 15-16, in order to further advance the action to prevent diseases and control pests and secure a bumper autumn grain harvest, the National Agricultural Technology Center held in Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the 2014 second-half pest and disease occurrence trend consultation meeting and the on-site meeting for the construction of national standardized regional stations for pest and disease forecasting. According to the consultation and analysis of the experts present, major pests and diseases of autumn grain crops are expected to occur at above-normal levels this year, posing a relatively large threat to a bumper autumn grain harvest. The occurrence of pests and diseases in the second half of the year has the following characteristics: First, the degree of pest and disease occurrence is heavier than last year, with an affected area of about 2.3 billion mu-times, an increase of 5% year on year. Second, there are many species of pests with severe recurrence. The brown planthopper, rice leaf roller and Asian corn borer will occur at above-normal to severe levels in most of their regular occurrence areas, with serious occurrence in some localities; in key locust areas such as Bohai Bay and the Yellow River floodplain, high-density patchy outbreaks of the oriental migratory locust will appear, and in parts of the farming-pastoral ecotone of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, the soil locust will migrate in concentrated numbers from grassland flats to farmland, causing damage. Third, the risk of epidemic diseases is high. Rice blast in some rice areas of Northeast and Southwest China, northern corn leaf blight in the main corn production areas of Northeast China, and potato late blight in the main autumn potato production areas of northern China will occur at above-normal epidemic levels, with a relatively high risk of disaster.
In order to do a good job in the monitoring and early warning of major pests and diseases in the second half of the year, the meeting emphasized: First, it is necessary to strengthen the sense of responsibility for doing a good job in the monitoring and early warning of major pests and diseases. By strengthening investigation and monitoring work, ensure that the monitoring and early warning of major pests and diseases are timely and accurate, and provide high-quality services for the development of prevention and control work. Second, it is necessary to further advance the establishment of standardized regional stations. By continuously strengthening and improving the hardware environment, raise the level of equipment support, and improve testing and detection capabilities and monitoring levels. Third, it is necessary to keep pace with the times and pioneer and innovate. By integrating and demonstrating modern pest and disease monitoring and early warning technologies, improving the technical specifications for monitoring major pests and diseases, improving the management system for reporting pest and disease monitoring information, and strengthening research on scientific and technological innovation, accelerate the promotion and application of modern technologies and equipment in pest and disease monitoring and early warning work, and comprehensively improve the automation and informatization of monitoring and early warning for major pests and diseases.
Leaders attending the meeting and delivering speeches included Hang Dapeng, Party Secretary of the National Agricultural Technology Center, Zhong Tianrun, Deputy Director, Chen Youquan, Deputy Inspector of the Planting Industry Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, and Jia Yuefeng, Deputy Director of the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Station heads and forecasting technicians from plant protection stations in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, as well as nearly 100 experts from units such as the Institute of Plant Protection of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University and the National Meteorological Center, attended the meeting.