Argentina: Expert advice on how to combat TSWV on peppers

GHIA Group organises TSWV training meetings

On 22-24 April 2009, GHIA, the Argentine Intensive Horticulture Group, organised three training meetings in Mar del Plata and La Plata, Argentina, to which technicians and producers were invited. The objective was to offer valuable information on how to tackle Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), which affects pepper crops in these areas.

Over 200 growers and technical experts had the opportunity to learn about the characteristics of the virus, how it is transmitted, how to identify the symptoms, and generally how to manage Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus through an intelligent combination of various tools and cultural practices.

The three days focused on two of the most important pepper production areas in Argentina, La Plata and Mar del Plata, and the training sessions were led by three horticultural specialists: Ms. Elena Dal Bó, a researcher in Phytopathology at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences in La Plata; Mr. Adrián Mittidieri, a specialist in crop protection & management and genetics; and Mr. Pedro Pleguezuelo, Syngenta Product Manager for Peppers in Spain and Portugal.

Mr. Pleguezuelo, whose experience includes defeating TSWV in a similar epidemiological situation in Spain some years ago, expressed his optimism thanks to the advances made with resistant varieties developed by Syngenta Seeds. He highlighted two key measures for tackling the virus:

 

-    Genetics: creating resistant varieties.
-    Control of the vector of TSWV, namely thrips, in particular the Frankliniella occidentalis, the most common thrips species in Argentina.

In this respect, the basic recommendations for control of the vector are:
-    Learning to identify the symptoms in order to eliminate affected plants and plant reservoirs and weeds as soon as possible.
-    Fitting physical barriers (high density mesh to stop insects / anti-thrips screens / double doors, etc.).
-    Closing two sides of the greenhouses on very windy days.
-    Intelligent use of agrochemical substances in order to reduce the intensity of the plague and attempt to break its life cycle.
-    Improving the application of products, that is to say, improving both the equipment and the way in which products are applied, in order to ensure maximum treatment efficiency.
-    It is also highly advisable to use sticky traps to capture insects, in order to determine the extent of
the plague and to directly reduce the thrips population.
 
Biological control, which involves introducing the natural enemies of thrips, is also employed in Spain as an effective means of controlling the vector.

The GHIA Group
The GHIA Group (Argentine Intensive Horticulture Group) is a group of leading companies which specialise in the vegetable industry, namely Syngenta Seeds, Syngenta Agro, Yara (vegetable nutrition), IPESA (plastics for agriculture) and Netafim (irrigation systems).

Click here for more information about Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (in Spanish)

 

Syngenta Seeds Vegetables Peppers Today - May 2009