MINSK, 12 July (BelTA) – No corn bugs have been detected in Belarus in 2018. No crops have been damaged by these bugs, BelTA learned from Belarusian Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Vladimir Grakun on 12 July.
The official said: “Our quarantine service is on the lookout for possible penetration of Belarus and the Eurasian Economic Union. As far as corn bug is concerned, pheromone traps are placed along our borders with the countries where corn bugs are abound – Ukraine and Poland. We detected the first corn bug in a pheromone trap on our territory in 2009. Measures were taken right away to stop its spread. It's been nearly ten years since then. No corn fields have been damaged by this bug. Several corn bugs were captured by pheromone traps. And no corn bugs whatsoever have been detected in Belarus so far this year.”
If a corn bug is found in a pheromone trap, corn farming is forbidden in the surrounding territory. “The measures we've taken have prevented the spread of these bugs in Belarus,” stressed the deputy agriculture and food minister.
The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance of Russia (Rosselkhoznadzor) has contacted Belarus this week to ask whether western corn bug has been found in Belarus. Vladimir Grakun talked to the Rosselkhoznadzor deputy head Yulia Shvabauskene today to clarify the situation. “We've also prepared the relevant letter for Rosselkhoznadzor,” he added.
