Hawaiian-Philippine Company (HPCo) has intensified efforts to fight the Red Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI), a major threat to sugarcane farms in Negros, with an innovative, organic solution.
This eco-friendly approach aims to suppress the pest population while protecting beneficial insects, a press statement from the sugar mill based in Silay City, Negros Occidental, said on Thursday, Sept. 11.
Since early June, HPCo’s technical team has been developing a specific organic solution tailored to different levels of RSSI infestation.
The team was assisted by Yael Skutelsky and Nina Lehmann, international agricultural experts from Israel, who were in Negros from August 10 to 16. They imparted their knowledge on biological pest management to help refine the treatment procedure and ensure its accuracy and effectiveness.
Under the guidance of the Israeli experts, HPCo’s team came up with a protocol that involves a cycle of assessment, spraying, and monitoring. This is designed to gradually reduce RSSI while supporting beneficial insect populations, the HPCo statement said.
The team initially applied the protocol in HPCo’s own cane fields before extending it to nearby cane farms.
“The use of an organic solution on RSSI-affected sugarcane will not kill the beneficial insects present. The organic solution will focus on pest growth disruption and reproduction suppression. Our main goal is to lower the ratio of RSSI to a certain threshold so that beneficial insects can naturally manage them,” said Rodeo Suating, HPCo’s CoGen Head and Regulatory Compliance Officer, who heads the technical team.
The RSSI primarily targets sugarcane along field perimeters, usually within five meters of the roadside or edges. Infestations lead to yellowing leaves, stunted cane height, and shortened internodes (or joints). The insect’s life cycle starts with instar nymph infection, occurring as early as two to three months after cane growth begins, with young and adult scales becoming more noticeable from the fourth to the tenth month.
The HPCo protocol starts with an assessment of infestation levels, followed by the first spraying of the organic solution based on the severity of the infestation. A second assessment and spraying are then conducted to monitor and reinforce results. Finally, a third round of assessment is conducted to ensure RSSI is reduced to a level where beneficial insects can naturally keep the pest under control, Suating said.
HPCo, headed by its Chairman Paul Andrew Curran, has vowed to concentrate on distributing the organic solution to the affected farms.
The planters, through their respective associations, will then conduct the assessment of
infestation levels and the actual spraying and de-trashing activities in their fields, all while strictly adhering to the protocols established by HPCo, Suating said.
The organic solution, tested by HPCo’s research and development team, disrupts pest growth and suppresses reproduction without harming beneficial insects. This approach aims to lower the RSSI population to a level that allows natural predators, such as ladybugs, spiders, lacewings, and others, to thrive and provide biological control, Suating said.
“This is the most affordable option over the use of commercial pesticides, which simultaneously eradicate beneficial insects in the area. Our protocol is available for everyone in our mill district who is affected,” Suating added.
In collaboration with local government units and planters’ associations, HPCo has committed to providing the initial dose of the organic solution free of charge to affected sugarcane farms within its mill district and to its planter members, particularly those in EB Magalona and Silay City, to help cane farmers effectively manage future infestations.*