How will the marble bug affect the quality of Georgian hazelnuts in 2022?

Hazelnut Kernel

Georgia

Published Jun 14, 2022

Tridge summary

The 2022 hazelnut season in Georgia promises to be even more challenging than the previous one. The preliminary forecast has already been made. Georgia expects to harvest up to 60,000 tons of hazelnuts, which is 5-10% less compared to the 2021 season. Marble bug (BMSB) damage could be even greater compared to 2021 given farmers' negative expectations for the coming season.

Original content

Unlike farmers, the government plans to be more active in the fight against bed bugs this season. The main activity includes spraying small gardens against the parasite. The state program involves spraying gardens up to 1.5 hectares with the provision of both equipment and pesticides, but those with gardens up to 5 hectares receive only pesticides under the program. Last month, Georgia took part in the webinar "Marble bug: a global threat to hazelnut production?" , organized by the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council (INC), where Nikoloz Meskhi, Head of the Plant Protection Department of the National Food Agency of Georgia, spoke about Georgia's strategy to combat the bed bug. According to Meskhi's presentation, over the past five years, the highest budget spent by the Georgian government on the campaign against BMSB was $18 million in 2019, and the lowest in 2021 was $3 million. According to the plan, the government will spend $10 million in 2022. In 2021, it was noticeable ...

Source: Eastfruit