PHP17.87M initial damage reported in Samar rice pest, disease infestation

TACLOBAN CITY, March 23 (PNA) – At least PHP17.87 million worth of damages have been incurred from widespread pest and disease infestation in Northern Samar and Eastern Samar provinces, the Department of Agriculture said, citing preliminary reports.

DA Regional Executive Director U-Nichols Manalo said there is ongoing validation within the 4,000-hectare rice farms reportedly plagued by the destructive bacterial leaf blight (BLB) brown plant hoppers.

“Out of the estimated PHP140 million damages as reported by local government units (LGUs), only PHP17 million have been validated by our team in both provinces. We have been asking the LGUs to help us so that the national government will immediately mobilize resources to stop the infestation,” Manalo said on Thursday.

As of this week, the quick response team has validated 648.36 hectares affecting 745 farmers.

BLB have been causing havoc in nine Northern Samar towns while plant hoppers have been attacking seven Eastern Samar towns.

The affected towns are Palapag, Las Navas, Lao-ang, Victoria, Allen, Lavezares, Rosario, San Jose and Catarman in Northern Samar and San Julian, Sulat, Taft, Dolores, Oras, Arteche and Jipapad in Eastern Samar.

“The DA is now seeking the help of the municipal agriculture officers as well as the farmers themselves to adopt some mitigating measures or pest management practices,” the DA regional chief said.

The infestation, however, will not significantly bring down the projected production of 537,954 metric tons in the first semester of 2017 considering that the two provinces are not top staple food producers in the region, according to Manalo.

Northern Samar's rice output accounts for 11.63 percent of the 954,844 metric tons produced in Eastern Visayas last year. Eastern Samar’s yield, on the other hand, only contributed 6.48 percent to the 2016 regional volume.

The two provinces have combined planted areas of 61,725 hectares.

BLB is caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzicola bacterium, which turns rice plants into brown. Under severe conditions, this could lead to reduced grain weight due to loss of photosynthetic area, according to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

IRRI explained that high population of plant hoppers cause leaves to initially turn orange-yellow before becoming brown and drying. This condition kills the plant. The hopper is capable of transmitting incurable Rice Ragged Stunt and Rice Grassy Stunt diseases.

Pest infestations have been recorded in Northern Samar since early of January this year. Eastern Samar farmers noticed the abnormal hoppers population in the last week of February.

Plant pest and disease experts from the Agriculture department were deployed last week to check the situation and launch an information drive on how to manage the infestation.

The government also provides farmers any possible assistance, including the conduct of capability enhancement training of technicians on pest management as reports of crop diseases and pest infestations keep coming.

The DA advised affected farmers to continue monitoring rice fields, immediate harvesting of the remaining unaffected matured crops, light trapping, metarhizium spray and judicious use of nitrogen fertilizers, among others.

The DA believes that pests and diseases thrived in Samar provinces due to high humidity, excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizer, closer crop canopy, and indiscriminate use of pesticide that kills their natural enemies. (PNA)
SARWELL Q. MENIANO