DA-7 warns farmers of pest infestations

The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Central Visayas is urging the farmers to regularly monitor their farms for any presence of pests and diseases to avoid crop damage.

Christopher Paran, entomologist of DA-7 Regional Crop Protection Center (RCPC), the change in weather conditions from dry to cold season and vice versa is very much favorable to pests and diseases occurrence.

He said early detection of pests and diseases in the farms are needed to prevent infestation and outbreak.

Infestation may cause big damages to the farms which may result in income loss for the farmers.

RCPC Chief Bienvenido Acabal, Jr., in the same statement said, pest and diseases that will likely to occur from January to March 2019 are rice black bug, rodents, rice stem borer, rice tungro virus and bacterial leaf blight.

This forecast, he said, was based on the historical data gathered by the Bureau of Plant Industry and the RCPC in the previous years.

Acabal said farmers should be vigilant in their farm monitoring as rice black bug is now spotted in Carcar City, southern Cebu and part of Negros Oriental while other pests have no occurrence yet.

He said though the reported infestation of army worms and rice grain bugs in Balamban and Carcar City, respectively, is not alarming.

"The low infestation in Balamban has already been contained with the immediate insecticide spraying done by the local government unit and the regional office," said Paran.

The DA-7 recommended maintaining proper cultural management and mechanical practices in the farm and the reactivation of the Bantay Peste Volunteer Brigade.

While DA-7 is closely monitoring the presence of pests and diseases, it advised farmers to report immediately any pest and diseases infestation to the Municipal Agriculture Office, Provincial Agriculture Office, DA regional offices and its Agriculture Program Coordinating Offices in the provinces.

Palaubsanon