Palawan beetle to save Batangas coco trees from destruction

With more than 150,000 coconut trees in Tanauan, Batangas, may die due to preying scale insects, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) on Wednesday announced a lasting solution: the Palawan-bred beetle known as coccinenid.

 

“This is a biological control that is now being repopulated in the area. We had the local government unit imported a host of this beetle from Palawan to spun a natural predatory cycle that would check and balance the pest population in the affected plantations,” PCA deputy administrator Carlos B. Carpio said.

 

The scale insects are also known as “aspidiotus destructor.”

 

“And these scale insects are all over the place. You can find them virtually anywhere,” he noted, adding that the insects do not only prey on coconut but on other crops too like avocado, sugarcane and other fruit-bearing trees, according to the PCA.

 

Out of the 200,000 coconut trees in Tanauan, Batangas, about 151,000 were infested.

 

The magnitude of the infestation may be the basis to declare a state of calamity so that affected farmers will get assistance from government.

 

Some farmers sold infested trees as coco lumber, however this practice will impact on the dwindling population of matured and nut-bearing coconut trees, the agency said.

 

Likewise, PCA reminded farmers that pruning and trimming can help arrest infestation at the onset.

 

The leaves and nuts of  infested trees should also be burned to avoid widespread infestation, it added.

 

“Once this is done, the trees can grow leaves anew and produce healthier nuts,” said Carpio.

 

PCA said that it has met with Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto who vowed to implement the necessary measures to stop the problem.

 

Last year, Philippine coconut exports reached an all time high of $2 billion.

 

Coconut oil, which makes up 70 percent of the total export value, reached 837,000 metric tons in 2011 due to steady demand from  the United States and European countries. —RRD/VS, GMA News