Benguet girds for ‘Chayote Fest’ despite viral menace

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Undaunted by the virus ravaging their farms, Benguet farmers, displaying their pliant attitude toward adversity, are girding for the first-ever "Chayote Festival" this November.

Lita Colting, acting chairwoman of the Benguet Tourism Council, said the festival slated on Nov. 23 will feature several contests, including culinary arts, on-the-spot poster making and essay writing, handicraft-making, fruit peeling and eating as well as weight lifting and estimation.

The production of sayote, dubbed the "hanging green gold" of Benguet, is hounded by the "Chayote mosaic tymovirus" which experts at the Benguet State University (BSU) discovered in 1996.

Jose Andiso, president of the Benguet Federation of Farmers, claims that there is a glut in sayote supply, saying the virus is still manageable and has not significantly affected the industry.

But BSU plant pathologists continue to raise the alarm against the virus that wilts the leaves of the sayote plant.

In the past eight years, Kibungan town has been the worst-hit, followed by La Trinidad and Atok towns as well as Baguio City.

Tymovirus, according to a virology research in Central America, is also common in potatoes, one of the major produce of northern Benguet, and other plants of the same species.

Dr. Julio Ligat, director of the BSU Institute of Highland Farming Systems and Agroforestry, studied the effect of the Chayote mosaic tymovirus on the growth and yield of sayote in Benguet from 1999 to 2003.

The study found mild to moderate infection in the towns of Atok, Bokod, Itogon, Kapangan, La Trinidad, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay and Baguio City, and low to mild infection in Bakun, Buguias, Kabayan, Kibungan and Mankayan towns.

At least 893.22 hectares are devoted to sayote production in Benguet.

Kibungan town alone produces 6,564.5 tons of sayote annually, representing gross sales of P13.129 million.

At present, Ligat said there is no chemical or pesticide that specifically counters the effects of the Chayote mosaic tymovirus and the squash leaf curl virus as well.

Ligat said the two viruses have basically the same manifestations such as chlorotic spots and mottling that result in reduced fruit and leaf sizes.