State Of Emergency In 'cocolisap' Areas Declared

[Malcolm Graham]

Was watching TV-Patrol when this item appeared.  They were on about it affecting other fruit trees.

 

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/06/06/14/state-emergency-cocolisap-areas-declared

 

President Aquino has signed an executive order (EO) declaring a state of emergency in areas infested by coconut scale insects where more than 1 million coconut trees are in danger of dying.

Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Kiko Pangilinan recommended the filing of the EO, which covers Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) and Basilan.

If not treated, the loss to the Philippine coconut industry will amount to P33 billion.

"It is serious enough to ask for emergency measures... If we don't address this, it could spread to the Bicol region, and also in the Zamboanga peninsula," Pangilinan told ANC on Friday.

"I hope that with the intervention, we will be able to manage this effectively and bring it down to manageable levels," he said.

Coconut scale insects are wind-borne and can easily spread to other regions if not controlled.

The infestation started in 2010 but efforts to stop it have failed.

The operation to manage the infestation is massive and will start soon.

"This is going to be a national, top-to-bottom, bottom-up effort. So the local governments will have to participate."

"The target is to treat anywhere between 15,000-17,000 trees a day. A million trees are affected. A million is around less than 2% of the entire tree population in Calabarazon," Pangilinan said

[Jollygoodfellow]

The story does not say how they will treat the trees? 15000 a day would probably mean aerial spraying which could cause other problems. 

[Malcolm Graham]

soapy water is the treatment of choice.  It actually works well with greenfly so its quite a good choice.  The only problem is its been there since 2010 thats why they are worried about cross species contamination