Thanks to an investigation by the INTA (of course!) on cold quarantine, Argentina and Mexico signed a new protocol.

Every shipment of pears and apples sent to Mexico, a market that absorbs around 18,000 tons of both fruits annually, undergoes a Cold Treatment at Origin (TFO) process, which is known to be effective against the most common pests in these crops, mealybugs and larval grapholita. After exposing the fruit to 0 degrees for 42 days, the mobile states of both pests are eliminated. However, what was not known for certain, due to the lack of evidence to prove it, was whether this effect also reaches the eggs that may be transported along with the fruit. In order to shed light on this issue, researchers from INTA Alto Valle carried out a work "in record time" that later allowed the approval of a new protocol for the shipment of pears and apples to the Mexican market, which is very relevant for the productions of Río Negro and Neuquén. The project was promoted and financed by the Committee of Producers and Exporters of Fruits and Vegetables to the USA (Copexeu), but supervised by the health ...