THE Department of Agriculture yesterday said they have placed
under control the rice black bug (RBB) infestation in one of the isolated
municipalities of Isabela, effectively preventing spread of the pest in other
palay fields in the province.
In a report to DA Secretary Arthur Yap, Dr. Andrew Villacorta,
DA's regional coordinator for the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani Rice Program in
Cagayan Valley, said their laboratories in the region are now mass-producing
Metarhizium, a bio-control agent against RBB, for distribution to farmers.
Villacorta said they are also undertaking a massive
information campaign to educate farmers on how to control the spread of the RBB
in the province.
The RBB infestation in the coastal town of Dinapigue in
Isabela was first reported by municipal agriculturist Carmelo Abalos early in
January. The DA responded by immediately sending a team from the Regional Crop
Protection Center to verify the extent of the infestation. It also formed a
multi-agency task force to carry out monitoring, surveillance and quarantine
measures to eradicate the pest.
In his report, Villacorta said the Dinapigue RBB infestation
involving 36 hectares of rice lands was an isolated case and is now under
control. He said a quarantine checkpoint was set up in Nagtipunan, Quirino, the
entry point between Aurora and Quirino provinces to regulate the possible entry
of an alternate RBB host. - Job T. Realubit
