Coco pest now under control

Government efforts to control the coconut pest Brontispa longissima in southern Palawan have been successful, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Administrator Oscar G. Garin said.

Citing the terminal operation control report of PCA provincial manager Rodolfo Romasanta, Garin said that during the two-month operation that started September, chemical control was applied to areas heaviest infested by the coconut beetle in the municipalities of Brookes point, Bataraza and Rizal.

Other measures were also employed, such as biological control using an endemic black earwig and mechanical control which is immediate and direct method of reducing pest populations.

The administrator said observation and validation from field reports revealed the recovery signs with the emergence of new leaf spears from the treated trees.

Garin said 90,904 coconut trees were treated and saved from all affected areas. The field operation was done with some funding assistance from the local government units (LGUs).

Yap hailed the PCA for being on top of the situation and on track on its target to completely eliminate the Brontispa infestation in the country. – Coconut Media Service