Red-striped soft scale insects (RSSI) that can reduce sugar content by almost 50 percent have hit farms in six areas in northern Negros Occidental, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) warned on Wednesday, May 21.
The SRA has created a task force headed by SRA Board Member David Andrew Sanson to control the infestation and seek quarantine measures from the Department of Agriculture, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said in a press statement.
Sugar farmers have to be “more vigilant” where they purchase their cane points as the infestation is suspected to have been brought to Negros from Luzon where an RSSI infestation has happened before and is still present in some farms, he said.
Sanson appealed to farmers to “stop transporting planting materials from Luzon and other infected areas because it has been observed that transmittal of this disease came from infected cane points.”
SRA has sought the help of the National Crop Protection Center (NCPC) at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, which facilitated the research and found at least five insecticides that may be able to limit the infestation, Sanson said.
Randolph Candano of NCPC said that protocol dictates that they conduct a second trial in different locations to further test the efficacy of the insecticides before they can even seek an emergency-use permit from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA).
These insecticides are not yet registered for sugarcane, he said.
Candano said based on their study, Buprofezin, Dinotefuran, Phenthoate, Pymetrozine, and Thiamethoxam have shown potential in curbing the spread of RSSI.
However, this is not conclusive until we conduct a second field trial in a different location, Candano said.
Azcona said they will propose that the second trial be conducted in Negros.
Meanwhile, they will push for quarantine of canes from infected areas, Azcona said.
In the past, the agriculture sector was able to contain the spread of cocolisap because of the effective measures set by the DA in ensuring that agricultural products would not be shipped out of Calabarzon while the infestation was active, he pointed out.
“We cannot afford to have an infestation, as some farmers are already starting to plant their canes for the next crop year,” Azcona said.
“We made a good showing this year despite the challenges brought about by the long drought and I hope we can maintain the momentum and even exceed our targets for next year if we will all help one another in containing this infestation,” Azcona said.
RSSI has been found not only to reduce yield, but will “increase production cost and can threaten the industry’s stability in general”, he said.
Candano said that based on their assessment, the pest can spread to contiguous farms, and treating cane points with insecticides, especially if they are just piling on the fields, as RSSI has been found to thrive under the heat, can help reduce their numbers.
He also recommended that SRA must already inform the FPA about the ongoing trials, and while it is possible for SRA itself to seek an emergency-use permit, the normal process is for the companies that produce these insecticides to start doing their own trials and seek the permit themselves from the FPA.
Sanson said that the task force will set up an Operation and Monitoring Center to document and report all RSSI and related issues around the country and will facilitate coordination and consultation among SRA delivery units and partner agencies that are involved in the management of the RSSI.
“Supporting the task force is not optional as it is essential in ensuring the future of the sugarcane industry,” Sanson added.*