Experts fear that with its alarming spread, the coconut scale insect (CSI) could easily reach several areas if not immediately controlled.
CSI has already infested more than 800,000 coconut trees in CALABARZON or in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon as reported by the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA). However, the towns of Lemery and Tanauan in Batangas were most affected, making the province a point of concentration of the insect pest.
CSI feeds on the sap of the coconut, causing the leaves to turn brown, die, and fall off. With the insect’s continuous sucking of nutrients, the coconut tree eventually dies.
To manage the infestation of CSI, PCAARRD and PCA are collaborating in a project titled “Development of S&T-based control strategies against coconut scale insect in CALABARZON”.
The project has two components. The first component aims to establish the pest dynamics; assess the severity of the infestation; correlate the spread of infestation to possible ecological factors; and establish the temporal and spatial rate of infestation through GPS data recording as basis for planning preventive control strategies. Erlene C. Manohar of PCA will handle this component.
The second component focuses on the evaluation of registered chemicals and optimization of predator rearing protocol for the control of CSI. PCA’s Ambrosio Raul R. Alfiler will lead this component.
“We are racing against time”, declared PCAARRD Executive Director Patricio S. Faylon in a meeting held recently at PCA. Faylon narrated his encounter with the affected farmers in Laguna and Batangas and the issues the farmers raised.
He then encouraged the project team to look into unconventional ways of solving the problem to help save the coconut industry. He also assured that the Council would fully support the project and other initiatives that could help address the issue.
Also at the meeting were Dr. Ponciano A. Batugal, PCAARRD cluster chair for coconut and oil palm, and Dr. Luis Rey I. Velasco, Integrated Pest Management consultant of PCA.
Batugal pointed out that there is a need to raise public awareness; elicit vigilance among researchers and farmers; and reinforce surveillance.
Velasco, on the other hand, reiterated the need for information dissemination as well as addressing the issue at the ground level.
Historically, CSI is considered a minor pest commonly found in coconut seedlings. Farmers were able to effectively control the infestation through soap and dishwashing detergents. An outbreak broke three years ago in Batangas, making entomologists from state universities and colleges and PCA declare CSI as a destructive pest. Then till now, CSI has been massively infesting the coconut plantations in the Southern Tagalog Region, and greatly affecting the farmers’ livelihood.