PCA to use natural pests for fighting brontispa infestation in coconuts

By BONG PEDALINO
June 10, 2010

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte  –  If only this will work out, then surely this will be a classic case using a natural way of eradicating coconut pests the harmless way, or chemical-less way.

Starting today, June 10, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) will apply a new discovery: spread a bunch of ant-like parasitoids to wage war against brontispa, a tiny leaf-eating beetle whose alarming presence has been noticed in twenty upland barangays in this city to date, turning two to three year old and newly-planted young coconuts into virtual dead plants.

But to prove its case, the army of parasitoids must win this war, and to see that it is winning both the PCA and the farmer concerned must be patiently monitoring the progress by the day, said Manuel Sembrano, provincial PCA head.

The test case for a battleground will be in barangay Pinaskohan, this city, the very first barangay where brontispa’s growing population was first noted early this year, Sembrano said.

In one hectare of coconut plantation at barangay Pinaskohan, at least five infected trees will be tied with the microscopic parasitoids placed in a plastic bottle peppered with holes as passageways.

Crawling out, the parasitoids would lay eggs – one insect or wasp lays 25 eggs – and this will be spit on a budding brontispa worm, and the colony of eggs, once out of their shells, would have an eating frenzy on the worm, Sembrano said, describing how the fight would look like.

Adult brontispas will not be attacked directly by the parasitoids, who are wise enough to locate the larvae only, and open fire with their eggs there.

Sembrano brushed aside insinuations that the parasitoids will then lead the destruction once brontispa worms are no longer available to eat.

“This is the basic difference of a parasitoid and a parasite.  The parasitoid will live in the host plant, and this host plant will live as well.  The parasite will live in a host plant, the host plant will die,” he explained.

But until such time victory will be secured, it is still a plan B to resort using chemicals in a wide swatch of an area infested by brontispa.

For now the parasitoid wasps have been cultured in the provincial office of the PCA after it was delivered here last week from Albay Research Center, ready and waiting to be deployed to war zones.