• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Efforts to combat the spread of the red striped soft-scale insect (RSSI) in Negros Occidental have gained momentum as local government units and provincial authorities rolled out new interventions, including the pilot planting of an RSSI-resistant sugarcane variety and an intensified biological control program.
Through the collaboration of Hawaiian-Philippine Company and Philippine Sugar Research Institute Foundation, E.B. Magalona Mayor Matthew Louis Malacon said a new sugarcane variety identified as 3171 has been developed with resistance to RSSI.
Malacon said the variety is currently being planted by a farmers’ association in Barangay Alicante as part of a pilot implementation program.
“If the trial proves successful and seed supply becomes sufficient, the local government plans to distribute the variety to small sugarcane farmers to boost production and protect their livelihoods,” the mayor said.
The municipality has established a Task Force RSSI to monitor infestations, provide assistance to affected farmers, and enforce measures to prevent the spread of the pest.
According to data from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), more than 32 percent of sugarcane plantations across Negros Island have already been affected by RSSI.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Biosecurity Task Force has completed the initial mapping and validation of nearly 2,000 hectares of sugarcane fields across Negros Occidental after 10 days.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said the comprehensive field validation enables the task force to make informed decisions and implement targeted interventions to protect the province’s sugar industry.
As part of its recent operations, the task force conducted field validation in Barangay San Miguel, La Carlota City, covering farms managed by members of the Salamanca United Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Inc.
Environmental conditions during the activity recorded a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and 92 percent relative humidity, conditions considered favorable for the application of biological control measures.
A total of 24 hectares of sugarcane fields classified under Level 1 and Level 2 RSSI infestation were validated in the area.
The task force has also intensified the application of Metarhizium, a biological control agent used to protect healthy sugarcane plantations and suppress the spread of RSSI in affected farms.
Diaz said additional supplies of Metarhizium produced by the provincial government’s soils laboratory and partner institutions will be distributed beginning next week to validated farms in remote areas that are difficult for provincial operations teams to reach.
He emphasized that the rapid mapping and validation efforts are essential to ensuring that interventions remain timely, strategic, and science-based as the province continues its campaign to contain RSSI and protect one of Negros Occidental’s key agricultural industries. | GPB
