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| COCONUT TREES (Photo credits to http://www.inquirer.net) |
Cocolisap (Aspidiotus Rigidus), also known as Coconut Scale Insect (CSI), is a leaf-sucking pest with a bite cycle of around 23 to 30 days.
The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is monitoring coconut plantations, PCA acting provincial manager Andy Laurilla assured the people of Capiz.
“We are grateful for the support of the provincial government,” he added.
PCA-Capiz is continually disseminating public information on the infestation, believing that an aware public is more proactive in combating cocolisap.
Avocado, sugarcane, pineapple, and banana are also vulnerable to cocolipsap.
In infested areas of the country, almost 1,000 insects can be found in a single left of a coconut tree while an entire tree have four millions of the pest, PCA said.
Capiz has more than 32,000 coconut farmers, according to PCA.
The Philippine coconut industry has lost at least P200 million because of cocolisap infestation, according to Presidential Assistant on Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Francis Pangilinan.
“Last year, ang datos po nila almost P200 million (losses). In average out iyong yield loss, mga 60 percent ang bagsak. Sometimes it’s 100 percent kapag talagang nadali na iyong puno; sometimes it’s as low as 25 percent kung ito po ay moderate infestation,” he said.
If the infestation is left unchecked, Pangilinan said, losses may go up to billions of pesos.
The government has drafted a six-month plan to fight cocolisap.
The insect is not endemic to the Philippines and it has no natural enemies here, thus requiring extra measures to control the infestation said Pangilinan.
The coconut industry is a billion dollar earner per annum and comprises 60 percent of the world’s coconut exports.
There are 3.5 million coconut farmers in the country and about 25 million Filipinos, or nearly a fourth of the population are directly or indirectly dependent on the coconut industry./PN
