Coconut leaf beetles infest 200,000 trees in E. Visayas

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Over 200,000 trees in Eastern Visayas provinces have been infested with the coconut leaf beetle as of this month, the Philippine Coconut Authority said over the weekend. The situation, however, is under control because the infected trees comprise less than 1% of the 73 million coconut trees in the region, said PCA regional manager Edilberto Nierva. "We have intensified our monitoring in affected areas of the region. The total affected trees account only a small share of the total regional output," Mr. Nierva said in an interview over the weekend. The number of infected trees increased to 221,713 as of this month from only about 6,000 in 2007. Due to budgetary constraints, Mr. Nierva said they were able to treat only 121,271 trees, so far, this year. The latest infestation was eyed early this month in Giporlos, Eastern Samar with around 658 coconut trees affected. Of the more than 221,000 trees attacked by the pest, 94,602 are in Northern Samar; 65,000 in Eastern Samar; 60,589 in Samar; and 1,522 in Leyte province. The affected areas are Allen, Capul, Lavezares, San Antonio, Victoria, Catarman and San Jose in Northern Samar; Mercedes, Borongan, Giporlos and Salcedo in Eastern Samar; Calbayog City, Catbalogan City, Paranas, Gandara, and Hinabangan in Samar; Tacloban City, Ormoc City and Mahaplag in Leyte. Southern Leyte and Biliran have remained pest-free. "We believe that transportation is the major factor in the spread of this coco pest, as we note that most of the newly infested farms are close to terminals, Mr. Nierva said. Also known as brontispa, the beetle is an invasive pest that was introduced to the country, presumably in early 2004, via importation of ornamental palms. Eastern Visayas is the second largest coconut-producing region in the country with around 73 million coconut trees yielding an average of 1.9 billion nuts a year. — Sarwell Q. Meniano, BusinessWorld