Philippines: New pest fast destroying coconut trees
His trees are one of more than 54,000 coconut trees in Region IV-A (Calabarzon) that have been infested by a new strain of coconut scale insect, according to a technical report by the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).
The infestation was first reported to the PCA in March 2010. It was first spotted in Barangay Balele in Tanauan, Batangas. By that time, more than 15,000 trees were already infested within a 15-kilometer radius. PCA scientists and farmers observed serious yellowing of coconuts and the drying of the trees' leaves. The water inside the nuts tasted sour.
If not contained, the infestation could reach the Bicol region and eventually the rest of Luzon, predicted Celino.
The great speed by which the insects multiply and spread led scientists to believe that they were dealing with a new species of scale insect, one that must have come from another country.
By a cruel twist of fate, the epidemic began and continues to spread in Calabarzon, the Luzon region with the biggest coconut industry. Coconut production in the region is highest in the whole of Luzon, bringing in more than 1.5 million coconuts in 2006. That's almost half (42%) of Luzon's total coconut production. There are also a total of 328,516 coconut farmers in the region whose livelihoods are now threatened by the scale insect outbreak.
The government could have contained the infestation by clearing away the area around infected trees, thereby creating a buffer zone to prevent its spread. Affected trees could have been killed while they were still relatively few.
PCA Administrator Euclides Forbes admitted his agency could have done more. By the time he took on his post in 2011, the infestation had spread to 4 villages. "I admit we had shortcomings, but at the time, our entomologists thought the insects were like other scale insects in the Philippines. When they found out it's from a different country, they started looking for a different approach."
The PCA task force created in 2011 to deal with the outbreak has also been given a bigger budget this 2014. From a budget of P30 million last year, they now have P50 million just to rid Calabarzon of the pests.
What the PCA is doing in the meantime is to deploy almost 1,000 volunteers and 225 sprayers – machines with hoses used to spray trees with an organic pesticide. This pesticide is a mixture of cochin oil and dish-washing liquid. The PCA is not allowed to use stronger toxic pesticides which could harm humans, animals, and other crops.
Farmers who allow the PCA to cut their infected trees are given new seedlings for free. So far, the PCA has given out around 150,000 seedlings.
Source: Rappler.com
