DA sends team to assess pest infestation of mango farms

MANILA, Philippines — A team of plant experts has been sent by the Department of Agriculture to Bulacan and Nueva Ecija to assess the extent of Cecid Fly infestation in mango farms. Led by Dr. Hernani Golez, the resident mango expert of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), the team is now conducting tests to verify the type of pests that have infested mango farms. Golez said the pest infestation has been reported in mango orchards across the country, but the problem is prevalent in areas where trees are not provided good management." He said their tests show that the pest affecting the mango farms in Bulacan is known as the Cecid Fly or Gall Midge. The pest is known by many names. It is “Saksak walis" or “Kurikong" in Luzon; “Buti," “Armalite," or “Nora-nora" in the Visayas and Mindanao . “This problem was first recorded in Batangas in 1987 and thought to be anthracnose infection or scab," Golez said. “Reports also show that this problem exists in other mango-growing countries such as India, Pakistan, Taiwan, Indonesia, and, lately, in Guam and Okinawa in Japan ." Young and old fruits show circular black or brown scabby lesions on the fruit peel, Golez said. In the advanced stage of development, the circular lesions increase in size with immature insects present upon dissection, he added. While the damage is superficial, young affected fruits fall to the ground (totally destroyed) while the quality of mature fruits is affected at harvest, Golez noted. He said the team has advised farmers in Bulacan to spray insecticides such as Carbaryl, Deltamethrin, Thiametoxam, Nieristoxin, and Permethrin, which are approved by the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), in the afternoons because these pests feed during nighttime. Farmers were also advised to prune and burn infested leaves. “We have advised farmers to use these chemicals and clean their orchards to control the infestation because the pests have been observed to thrive in weedy and uncultivated areas," Golez said. “For the unaffected areas, we have asked farmers to monitor their trees for any signs of infestation and to report these immediately to us or the Municipal Agriculture Officer (MAO)." A separate team dispatched to Jaen, Nueva Ecija, meanwhile, met with Mayor Antonio Esquivel of the town and its MAOs to assess the situation and provide aid to the affected farmers. Earlier the DA also swiftly responded to reports of rat infestations in Nueva Ecija’s palay-growing areas by implementing timely intervention measures in the affected farms. - D'Jay Lazaro, GMANews.TV