• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Experts from the National Crop Protection Center of the University of the Philippines – Los Baños (NCPC-UPLB) are arriving in the 5th district of Negros Occidental today, to help farmers contain the fall armyworm infestation, Rep. Emelio Bernardino Yulo disclosed yesterday.
Yulo reported that almost all local government units in his district have been affected by the pest infestations.
As of the June 27 report of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, armyworms infestations have damaged 484 hectares of cornfields and sugar plantations in Isabela, Binalbagan, Moises Padilla, Himamaylan City, and La Castellana, all in the 5th district.
Armyworms also hit cornfields in Murcia, Kabankalan City, Ilog, and Cauayan, destroying more than 64 hectares of the crop.
Yulo said the team of UP National Crop Protection Center, in tandem with concerned government agencies, is expected to determine the most effective pesticides or insecticides to be used against armyworms.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson also welcomed the arrival of experts from UP, who were requested by Yulo.
Any help that we can get is most welcome, Lacson said, adding that whatever remedies available are now being applied to prevent the spread of infestations.
Manual and drone spraying of pesticides has been initiated by the provincial government, in tandem with private firms, in affected areas.*
