• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Negros Occidental provincial government has started producing its own supply of Metarhizium, an entomopathogenic fungus (EPF) being used as a biological control against the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) affecting sugarcane plantations.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said the production is being undertaken at the Capitol-run Soils Laboratory through the Biocontrol Materials Production Team of the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental (PGNO) Task Force Kontra RSSI.
Four weeks after operations started, Diaz said the team has established a stable supply of Metarhizium for weekly distribution to sugarcane farmers across the province.
On Aug. 14, the task force distributed its locally produced EPF mixture for the first time to small farmers in Barangay Caliban, Murcia.
The biocontrol material was provided in two forms — a green liquid containing pure Metarhizium for immediate application, and a solid form using corn as a low-cost substrate for mass production and storage for later use.
Diaz said the distribution was accompanied by demonstrations on the preparation and proper spraying of the biocontrol material aimed at enabling farmers to apply the technology on their own farms.
He noted that the successful production of the EPF at the provincial laboratory strengthens the government’s efforts to provide farmers with an accessible and sustainable biological control option against RSSI.
The initiative is part of the Provincial Biosecurity Task Force for Agriculture’s continuing campaign to train and capacitate sugarcane farmers in managing the pest at the farm level.
About 93.25 hectares of sugarcane plantations of small planters in Hacienda Poblador, Carabalan, Himamaylan City were also treated, after the PGNO Drone Team simultaneously conducted aerial surveillance.
In Manapla, the task force also carried out spraying activities covering 79.54 hectares, including 67.51 hectares in Barangay San Pablo and 12.03 hectares in Barangay Purisima.
The task force also launched farmer-to-farmer training, demonstrations, and distribution of biocontrol materials in Bago City on Aug. 13, benefiting 30 farmers from the Binubuhan-Yellowbell Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association and 29 farmers from the Don Jorge Araneta-Pangulayan Agrarian Reform Cooperative.
The increasing requests for Metarhizium spraying, coupled with positive feedback from farmers, have prompted the provincial government to expand the production and distribution of the biocontrol material.
Through the continued operation of its government-run laboratory and collaboration with private stakeholders, the Provincial Biosecurity Task Force for Agriculture aims to ensure a reliable supply of Metarhizium while equipping more Negrense sugarcane farmers with practical tools to combat RSSI, Diaz said. | GPB
