• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
There are now 17 barangays in seven local government units of Negros Occidental hit by pest infestations, according to reports of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist.
In an updated OPA report, as of June 21, a total of 296.4 hectares of sugarcane plantations and cornfields in Himamaylan City, Isabela, Binalbagan, Moises Padilla, Ilog, Kabankalan City and La Castellana, were damaged by armyworms, affecting 381 farmers.
Hardest hit was Isabela with 109 hectares of cornfields attacked by armyworms, with 130 farmers affected, while 80 hectares of sugarcane plantations were also hit by pest infestations.
Since last week, the OPA, Sugar Regulatory Administration, in tandem with private firms, conducted massive spraying in areas infested by armyworms.
The total value of the damage is yet to be established by the OPA, as of this time.
According to the Department of Agriculture, armyworms are destructive pests that got their names from their army-like movement in agricultural fields. They usually consume turf grass but would eat any vegetation in their path. They can be controlled using neem oil-based sprays, or with biological controls like earwigs, spiders, and predatory wasps.
The armyworm outbreak has been blamed on climate change, triggered by the El Niño phenomenon and subsequent rains. | GB
