How Serious is the Banana Emergency in Costa Rica? – The Costa Rica Star Details Alert sent: No Sites: PH Publish date: Thu 2013-Dec-19 Author: Jaime Lopez Channel: Pests/diseases Text (summary): A tiny and pesky insect is wreaking havoc in banana plantations across Costa Rica. Producers, exporters and government officials are keeping a close eye on the widespread plague of cochineal insects that enjoy sucking on recently sprouted banana leaves before they move on to the fruit. The cochineal bugs do not actually get to the banana flesh itself; however, they leave unsightly black stains on the peels, which disqualifies the fruit for export purposes. Along with quality coffee beans, bananas are very important crops for the national economy of Costa Rica, which has a rich agricultural tradition. According to a news report by Marvin Barquero of La Nacion, more than 90 percent of the 44,000 hectares dedicated to banana cultivation are experiencing Dactylopius coccus infestations. Read more: news.co.cr [English Locations Location Coordinates Zoom Relevance Show on map Costa Rica, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil 23.4167°S 54.65°W 0.907 Discovery Discoveries: Discovery method: Robot discovered URL: http://news.co.cr/how-serious-is-the-banana-emergency-in-costa-rica/30429/ Original language: English Original title: How Serious is the Banana Emergency in Costa Rica? – The Costa Rica Star Original text (summary): A tiny and pesky insect is wreaking havoc in banana plantations across Costa Rica. Producers, exporters and government officials are keeping a close eye on the widespread plague of cochineal insects that enjoy sucking on recently sprouted banana leaves before they move on to the fruit. The cochineal bugs do not actually get to the banana flesh itself; however, they leave unsightly black stains on the peels, which disqualifies the fruit for export purposes. Along with quality coffee beans, bananas are very important crops for the national economy of Costa Rica, which has a rich agricultural tradition. According to a news report by Marvin Barquero of La Nacion, more than 90 percent of the 44,000 hectares dedicated to banana cultivation are experiencing Dactylopius coccus infestations.
