Locust Plague Threatens Crops in Mexico and Central America

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The International Regional Organization for Plant and Animal Health (OIRSA), based in San Salvador, issued an alert on Wednesday regarding a locust infestation affecting fields in Central America and Mexico. “It is time to tell farmers, governments, and Ministries of Agriculture to prepare with biological and agroecological tools,” said OIRSA’s Regional Director of Plant Health, Mexican Carlos Urías, said in an interview.

The organization warned of the “danger” to crops from southern Mexico to Nicaragua due to the presence of the Central American Locust (Schistocerca piceifrons piceifrons) and the Giant Grasshopper (Tropidacris Cristata dux). According to Urías, locust outbreaks have been detected in Yucatán, Mexico; in Guatemala on Las Víboras Volcano and in the department of Petén; and in central El Salvador.

In Nicaragua, locusts are present in Managua, León, and Masaya, but the country has a “control strategy” that “reduces the risk from the first generation,” the official explained. In Honduras, an outbreak of “giant grasshoppers” has been reported in the department of Olancho, northeast of Tegucigalpa.

In a statement, OIRSA urged the affected countries to “pay maximum attention to the development of the plague.” The drought that persisted in the first five months of 2024 in the region, followed by “heavy rainfall,” created the “ecological” conditions for the development of orthopterans, the specialized entity explained.

The Central American Locust attacks basic grain crops and about 400 plant species. The swarms of this herbivorous insect have the ability to migrate over 150 kilometers per day.

Central American countries, with nearly 50 million inhabitants spread over 520,000 km², have suffered significant economic damage for decades due to locust invasions, Urías recalled.

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