Agriculture Business Week

Not many noticed the decrease in mango harvests from Central Luzon last summer. Mango growers from Bulacan and Nueva Ecija, however, felt the difference with last season’s harvests falling behind expected yield due to a pest called cecid fly or gall midge.

This fly, known as ‘saksak walis’ or `kurikong’ in Luzon, `buti,’ or `armalite,’ ‘Gloria-gloria,’ or ‘Nora-nora’ in the Visayas and Mindanao, infests mango farms across the country.

The adult mango cecid fly resembles a mosquito and commonly lays its eggs on young mango leaves. The larvae which develop from eggs, mine the leaves producing dark green circular galls or swelling of tissues along the leaf blade. When the adults emerge from these galls, the leaves develop circular spots or holes which are sometimes mistaken as fungal infection. Under heavy infestations, the leaves wrinkle and turn yellow.

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Posted on June 4th, 2010 under Fruits. Tags: Disease, Kurikong, Mango, Pest. Comments: 3

Modern agriculture produces high yields, but is often not sustainable. Expensive seeds and farm chemicals eat into profit. Pesticides upset the natural balance between predators and pests, and chemical poison groundwater and rivers.

“Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are killed due to accidental poisoning by agricultural chemicals,” says Roy C. Alimoane, director of the Davao-based Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) Foundation, Inc.

The Geneva-based World Health Organization reports that three people are poisoned by pesticides every minute around the world. All in all, about 10,000 die annually due to pesticides.

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Posted on May 26th, 2010 under Special Report. Tags: Botanical, Disease, Pest, Pesticides. Comments: 1

Worms, bugs and other rice pests are an enigma to many farmers as these are threats to rice production.

To most farmers, commercial insecticides and pesticides are the most effective and readily available pest controls. What they don’t realize is that these cost them added expenses not to mention the bad effects of these chemicals to health and environment.

Dr. Alfredo R. Rabena, head of the Research and Development Office of the University of Northern Philippines in Vigan City, Ilocos, has discovered a solution. He found that the leaves of kakawate tree or Mexican Lilac (Glinicidia sepium) contains coumarins, an effective botanopesticide.

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Posted on May 22nd, 2010 under Plant, Rice. Tags: Disease, Farming, Kakawate, Leaf, Pest, Rice. Comments: 18

A consultation meeting on the anthracnose disease in mango was tackled in a consultation meeting facilitated by Dr. Teodoro Solsoloy, assistant director of the Bureau of Agricultural Research.

Among the participants were Roberto C. Amores, president of Philfoodex and CEO of a mango exporting firm, Director Ricardo Cachuela of the Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension, Kevin Yaptengco of the UPLB Institute of Agricultural Engineering, a representative of the Bureau of Plant Industry, and technical personnel of BAR.

The discussion focused on how to address the presence of anthracnose disease in mango fruits, also known as black spots. This disease is caused by a fungus called Colletotrichum gleosporioides and is considered a very serious disease of mango. Anthracnose infects almost all parts of the mango, including flower panicles, twigs, leaves, and fruits of mature as well as immature trees.

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Posted on March 9th, 2010 under Fruits. Tags: Antracnose, Disease, Mango, Pest. Comments: 1

Aerial spraying is recognized as a method or standard means of pest control, crop management, and fertigation as expounded in agricultural modernization.

As early as 1968, the Philippines already had 10 aircrafts used in aerial spraying of export bananas, the Cavendish variety. Yet Russia that time already had 7,000, while the United States had 5,700, and these aircrafts were used in spraying cotton and corn among other plantation crops.

For so many decades now, no country that has experienced aerial spraying has banned the practice. And with the advent of modern research, safer and more modern pesticides are being formulated and introduced commercially worldwide. Hence, we do not have to fear the large-scale use of pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers through aerial spraying to control the dreaded fungal diseases of bananas, particularly the Black Sigatoka.

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Posted on March 3rd, 2010 under Farming, Other Crops, Technology. Tags: Aerial Sparying, Crop, Pest. Comments: 1

The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has discovered new parasitoid insects which could prove to be of great importance in the country’s continuing battle against Brontispa longissima which has previously attacked more than 1.6 million coconut trees nationwide, this is according to PCA Administrator Oscar G. Garin.

“Our research center in the Davao City has identified two indigenous small insects that parasitize Brontispa by laying their eggs in the larva or pupa of the pest” Garin highlighted in the recently concluded Brontispa In-House Evaluation and Action Planning held in Quezon City.

The administrator revealed that the PCA-Davao Reseach Center conducted a Field Release Evaluation where a total of 1,948 parasitoid adults were released in infested barangays in Region XI and parallel laboratory tests.

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Posted on September 28th, 2009 under Other Crops, SPOTlight. Tags: Brontispa, Coconut, Pest, Philippine Coconut Authority. Comments: 2

A husband and wife team at the Philippine Coconut Authority’s Davao Research Center in Dava City has discovered an indigenous wasp that could help control the spread of the destructive coconut leaf beetle called Brontispa longissima. This is an introduced pest that has wreaked havoc on coconut trees in 255 towns in 44 provinces throughout the country. No less than 1.5 milion coconut trees have been affected by pest as of February 2009.

The two researchers are Ma. Cynthia Gallego and husband Vivencio. Cynthia is the division chief of the Crop Protection Division of the PCA’s research center in Davao City where Vivencio also works as Scientist 1.

The indigenous wasp (still unidentified) has been observed to feed on the pupae of the Brontispa beetle, thus preventing their hatching into adults. The wasp (they call it parasitoid) is now being multiplied and disseminated to coconut producing provinces.

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Posted on September 23rd, 2009 under Other Crops. Tags: Beetle, Brontispa, Coco Leaf Beetle, Coconut, Parasite, Pest. Comments: None

Pest Infestation, if not properly managed, could lead up to 30 percent loss in potential yield, according to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

In line with this, in a study conducted at PhilRice in Agusan where the climate is either wet or very wet, a group of researchers led by agronomist Frencisco Varquez found that damage from pest results in a yield as low as 4.3 tons per hectare in an area where a highest yield of 7 tons per hectare can be achieved.

In this experiment titled “Targeting On-Farm Rice Yield for Site-Specific Nutrient Management Using the PalayCheck Minus-One Key Check,” the researchers allowed the infestation to get severe to determine the level of yield loss when no pest management practice is exercised.

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Posted on June 28th, 2009 under Farming, Rice. Tags: PalayCheck, Pest, Rice. Comments: None

CORN EARWORM (Helicoverpaarmigera Hubner)
Description and life cycle. The corn-earworm (CEW) feeds on over 100 different plants with corn being the preferred host. Corn earworm moths deposit eggs singly on .the leaf whorl of young plants, under-surface of corn leaves, leaf sheaths, husks, and silks depending on the developmental stages of the plant. Eggs are sub-spherical or broadly oval with longitudinal ridges. Eggs are cream-colored when newly laid and turns dark when about to hatch. Incubation period is 2-3 days. The newly hatched larva is pale yellowish-white with black head. Mature larvae may vary in color between pale green, pinkish, yellowish, and dark brown with alternating light and dark stripes running lengthwise on the body. The body is covered with numerous transparent setae or hairs. Larva molts 6 times in 17-24 days. The larval stage of the corn earworm is the destructive stage of this insect pest. Pupa is yellowish-green when newly pupated and turns reddish to dark brown and becomes stout and shiny as it matures. Pupation takes place in the soil for a period of 12-24 days. Adults have light to dull brown marks at the edge of membranous hindwings. Males have darker brown spots on the forewings. The female may lay 200-2,000 eggs.

Total development period from egg to adult is 34-40 days.

Damage symptoms. Plant growth affected is from early whorl to hard dough stage. When corn plant is attacked at whorl stage, typical signs are rows of shot holes on unfolding leaves. Larvae feed on corn silks, they clipped these off prior to feeding on the corn ears. The ears are the preferred sites for corn earworm attack. Ear damage is characterized by extensive excrement at the ear tip. They remain feeding in the tip areas until they leave to pupate in the soil. Ear tip feeding can be extensive and provides an avenue for disease organisms to enter the ear. Larvae feed for 2-4 weeks. Because of its cannibalistic nature, there is normally one larva attacking per ear.

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Posted on June 5th, 2009 under Corn/Maize. Tags: Corn, Defoliator, Disease, Maize, Pest. Comments: 1

The damage inflicted by the Cecid fly on mango fruits, more popularly known as ‘Kurikong’, is becoming an important concern of mango growers in many parts of the country.

Affected fruits are usually unmarketable because of the circular black or brown scabby lesions on the skin of the fruits. Both small and big fruits are affected. If the infestation is early, the affected young fruits usually drop from the tree.

On the other hand, affected fruits that reach maturity are unattractive and if they can be sold at all, they fetch a very low price. Some of the affected fruits also crack, according to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) experts.

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Posted on May 28th, 2009 under Fruits. Tags: Cecid Fly, Disease, Kurikong, Mango, Pest. Comments: 6

Some months back, we wrote about another set of insects that is currently becoming a scourge to corn growers in Luzon: the corn plant hoppers and their cousins such as aphids and grass derbids. These sucking insects are somewhat of lesser importance before but for some reasons, they have become very important. The problem is that farmers and even agronomists are not familiar with these pests and the appropriate control strategies.

For the benefit of our corn growers in Luzon, a control strategy devised by Pioneer to control the planthoppers is included in this article. We hope this guide can be of help to both farmers and agricultural technicians.

This month we will talk about another set of corn pests with a different way of inflicting damage on corn: defoliation. As we all know, any reduction in the leaf area results in lower photosynthetic output (food for the plant) since there are lesser tissues to capture the sun’s energy. Defoliation can starve the plant and hence, it results in lower yields and predisposes the plant to diseases.

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Posted on April 26th, 2009 under Corn/Maize. Tags: Black Cutworms, Corn Armyworm, Corn/Maize, Defoliation, Defoliators, Grasshopper, Insect, Pest. Comments: None

One of the things I noticed and appreciate with our corn farmers nowadays is their increasing knowledge on kaibigang kulisap or friendly insects. This group of good insects performs valued services for farmers like pollination and pest control. As we all know, some plants need the help of insects for pollination to take place (termed entomophily). These insects include the bees, wasps, and butterflies. Some insects are natural enemies of borers, armyworms, and other Lepidopteran pests. These good insects include the earwigs, Trichogramma, parasitic wasps, mantis, and lady beetles. Spiders, although technically not an insect, are also a friendly inhabitant of the cornfield.

A very good number of our farmers can list down all these kaibigang kulisap with ease. Thanks to our government’s active promotion of integrated pest management (IPM) through farmers’ field schools and season-long trainings. I think this program has been going on for several years now and has been conducted among important corn and rice growing areas of the country. I got the chance of interacting with many farmers in Central Luzon for several years and it’s nice to know that their acquired knowledge is put to use and reaping good results, economically and ecologically. Consequently, their farmer neighbors learn from them and follow them.

This month, let’s discuss the roles-other than pollination – of some of these beneficial insects and how farmers can maintain a good level of their population in the cornfields.

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Posted on March 7th, 2009 under Agri Tips, Corn/Maize. Tags: Corn, Insect, Pest. Comments: 1

Founded as a nutritional ingredient manufacturer in 1961 by R. WW and Mary Nelson, Kemin Industries, Inc., is a private company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. It produces ingredients and invents processes that provide nutritional and health solutions for humans and animals.

Grain Storage Practices (GSPs) is the primary mechanism developed by Kemin Industries to control and reduce hazards in cereals. All GSPs recommend the use of suitable and approved preservatives (e.g. Myco Curb range of nutricines) to prevent heating and mold growth.

Grains are seeds from cereal plantsmembers of the grass family, Gramineae. They constitute the bulk of the high-energy (carbonaceous) feeds. Some contain as much as 85% carbohydrate (starch) and 6% fat. Most harvested feed grains have relatively little moisture, about 10%, and are not as variable in composition as forages. Representing more than 60% of the total tonnage of concentrate feed, corn is, by far, the most widely used high-energy feed in the United States and elsewhere.

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Posted on January 3rd, 2009 under Other Crops. Tags: Cereal, Disease, Grains, Pest, Spoil. Comments: None

Some local folk consider suso(cerithedia cingualta) as a delicacy, but this mollusk is claimed to be a pest for brackishwater bangus when its population increases, preventing the formation of lablab mat or lumut that serves as food for bangus. This condition is blamed for the low production rate of bangus in brakiswater ponds.

Suso, however, becomes abundant only in ponds in mangrove areas. They thrive in disturbed and polluted sediments such as in fishponds where other species are excluded or killed. There, they live their entire life cycle, with the adults laying their eggs throughout the year.

Since bangus ponds are built mostly in mangrove areas, the food-rich environment that favors bangus growth and development likewise favors the growth and development of suso.
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Posted on December 28th, 2008 under Aquaculture. Tags: Bangus, Milkfish, Pest, Suso. Comments: None