Agriculture Business Week

To prevent the coconut leaf beetle (Bronstispa longissima), or CLB, from spreading in the visayas, the National Coconut Research Center-Visayas (NCRC) based in Visayas State University (USU) is conducting studies to identify effective but least hazardous pesticides and viable biological control agents.

Tasked by the Department of Agriculture and the PCA-8 to conduct studies on CLB, the NCRC believes that in order to contain the pest immediately, pesticides should be applied in farms where infestations are severe. But Dr. Bimbo T. Mandras, VSU entomologist and NCRCV affiliate scientist for pest control, suggested that only pesticides with shorter residual toxic effect should be used.

This is because pesticides are costly, harmful for the environment and human health, and its application would affect the coconut farmers economically because they would be prohibited to harvest coconuts from pesticide-treated trees for six months.

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Posted on November 30th, 2008 under Other Crops. Tags: Brontispa, Coconut, Disease, Pest. Comments: None

To lessen the cost of storing seeds, PhilRice has been developed alternative technologies for preserving the quality of seeds and protecting them from storage pests.

These are the admixture seed treatment machine (STM) and the sealed storage enclosure for hybrid rice and other seeds (SACLOB), which both utilize locally available materials and were developed by a group of engineers led by Engr. Ricardo F. Orge.

STM
Admixture seed treatment is a method of treating or saving the seeds from storage pest attacks by combining the chemicals applied in the process. The STM, on the other hand, is designed to optimize the use and efficiency of these chemicals by ensuring the application and absorption of the right volume and solution for the seeds.

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Posted on November 23rd, 2008 under Technology. Tags: Pest, Seeds, Technology. Comments: None