Pests attack coconut, banana farms in Negros town

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines - Valencia, Negros Oriental Mayor Rodolfo Gonzales and his agriculture staff are taking measures to mitigate the effect of pests on coconut and banana farms here. According to the town's agriculture office, some 195 hectares of coconut and banana farms in seven villages have been affected by mealybugs, threatening a huge decline in production in the coming months. What's your take on the Mindanao crisis? Discuss views with other readers The municipal agriculture office and the Philippine Coconut Authority have already taken steps to avert the possible effect of mealybugs in fruit-bearing crops and to stop its further damage to plants. Town agriculturist Rescil Vincoy said 100 percent of the coconut trees in barangays Lunga and Apolong have been exposed to mealybugs. It also infested coconut and banana plantations in barangays Sagbang, Bongbong, Jawa, West Balabag and Mampas. Dr. Ireneo Lit Jr., an entomologist at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, explained that the pest, identified as the buff coconut mealybugs (BCMs), has been damaging thousands of economically important plants and trees like coconut, bananas and other fruit-bearing trees in Calabarzon and several towns in the Bicol region. He said the infestation of this type of mealybugs, locally called "dapulak," was also reported in Visayas and Mindanao provinces. While mealybugs suck the plant sap, which results to infections in leaves and honeydew that hinder the production of food, decline in the production of fruits is inevitable, Vincoy said. Instead of spraying, the agriculture officer encourages farmers to continue cleaning the leaves to control infestation. Aside from coconuts and bananas, BCMs are also plaguing atis, guyabano, guava, star apple, chico, avocado and pili, among other fruits. But coconut farmers in the country, who are still reeling from the destructive effects of the palm leaf beetle, will bear much of the burden brought by the sudden rise of population of BCMs. Mealybugs infest seedlings and mature palms and intercrops. In 1989, high incidence was noted on mature palms in southern Palawan. Infested coconut areas reached 4,500 hectares by the end of 1993. - Sun.Star Dumaguete