Drone spraying of insecticide to halt the spread of armyworms will be conducted, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, June 25.
Fall armyworms have attacked crops in two cities and five towns in Negros Occidental that have affected 381 farmers.
It the armyworms spread further, it could become alarming, Lacson said.
The provincial government has provided pesticides and will undertake an emergency purchase of insecticides, he said.
It is also providing the labor for the spraying, Lacson said.
The provincial government has coordinated with the Sugar Regulatory Administration as far as drone spraying is concerned, Lacson added.
The armyworm attacks have affected sugarcane on 80 hectares in Himamaylan City and corn covering 216.49 hectares in Himamaylan and Kabankalan cities, and Isabela, Binalbagan, Moises Padilla, Ilog and La Castellana, the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist reported.
Meanwhile, while cloud seeding is still an option there is already an abundance of rain in southern Negros, Lacson said.
Right now the Bureau of Soils and Water Management is focusing its cloud seeding efforts in Panay, he said.*