The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said the Department of Agriculture (DA) will give farmers in the Negros region pesticides to stop the sugarcane infestation as soon as all the guidelines and protocols for quarantine and treatment are set.
The red-striped soft scale insects (RSSI), known to reduce sugar content by almost 50 percent, were initially found in sugarcane farms in six areas in Negros Occidental last week. These areas are Victoria, the Hawaiian area, Silay, Saravia, Sagay, and Lopez in the northern portion of Negros Occidental.
The government said that so far, the RSSI has been found in 87 hectares of sugarcane plantations in 12 farms on the Negros island in 11 towns and cities.
The SRA said in a statement over the weekend that its officials have mapped out their next steps to contain the infestation. Quarantine and treatment protocols have been expedited by the DA’s plant disease experts for the disinfection and soaking of planting materials in pesticides to prevent the further spread of the RSSI infestation, the SRA said.
SRA earlier said that an emergency use permit for five pesticides intended to control the spread of RSSI in the Negros region has been sought.
The SRA said the National Crop Protection Center (NCPC) at the University of the Philippines Los Baños in Laguna, has identified five insecticides such as Buprofezin, Dinotefuran, Phenthoate, Pymetrozine, and Thiamethoxam, as the available brands that have shown efficacies to stop the RSSI infestation.
However, the NCPC said these pesticides have not been registered for sugarcane treatment, and government plant disease experts would have to conduct a second trial in a different location to further test their efficacy before seeking an emergency-use permit from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA). The SRA officials said it usually took more than a week to conduct second trials on the efficacy of pesticides.
The NCPC has strongly urged private companies that produce these insecticides to do their own trials too with sugarcane, as they are allowed to do so in normal processes, and seek the emergency permit themselves from the FPA.
In the meantime, the SRA said the DA has tapped the help of the Bureau of Quarantine to set and implement quarantine protocols for the transport of planting materials from infected areas.
The DA will also make available two disinfectant vehicles/tankers in the Negros island and one in Iloilo for planting materials and canes being transported, the SRAsaid.
The DA will also coordinate with towns and cities where the infestation has been monitored in containing the spread of RSSI, the SRA added.
“In the absence of a conclusive study (on appropriate pesticides), the DA is ready to assist through these measures to prevent the spread in sugarcanes and make sure it (the infestation) will not affect other high value crops,” the SRA explained.
A representative of the local sugar industry has urged the government to act swiftly on the situation to prevent huge losses in the sugar industry.
“We are alarmed, this should be addressed right away by the DA. They have to spray insecticides on the infected areas and stop the infestation immediately. Very bad for the industry if this is not addressed right away,” said Manuel Lamata, the United Sugar Producers Federation president, in a separate message.
