DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
Elliptical Rd., Diliman, Quezon City

Press Release
July 12, 2010

DA allots initial P900,000 to control ‘armyworms’

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala has initially ordered the immediate distribution of P900,000-worth of knapsack sprayers and recommended insecticides in coordination with local government officials and agriculture technicians to control the spread of armyworms that attack farms in Batangas, Cavite and
Quezon.

He has instructed Undersecretary Joel Rudinas and Assistant Secretary Dennis Araullo to monitor the infestations.

Yesterday (July 12), Ass’t. Sec. Araullo visited Cavite , Batangas and Quezon to coordinate with local officials and technicians.

Sec. Alcala also instructed the DA Regional Field Units in Regions IV-A (CALABARZON) and III (Central Luzon), and the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to coordinate closely with the respective provincial and municipal governments, particularly in Bataan, Cavite , Batangas, and Quezon — where the armyworm infestations were reported.

Two experts from the DA-4A and DA-BPI were assigned by U/Sec Rudinas and A/Sec Araullo to provide technical information to LGUs, farmers and the general public on how to effectively control armyworms and other pests. They are Wilma Cuaterno, of the BPI Crop Protection Division Chief, and Cecille Manzanilla, chief of the DA-4A Regional Crop Protection Center .

They said armyworms are most destructive during their larval stage. They may be controlled by applying recommended insecticides such as “Carbaryl” and ‘Pyrethroids.”

“The chemicals should be sprayed directly to the armyworms or to the vegetation, where the pests are visible during late afternoons when they are most active,” Cuaterno and Manzanilla said.

“We are urging the extension workers and farmers to follow proper procedures in the application of recommended chemicals as indicated in their labels. We are also urging farmers to always wear protective gears during insecticide application,” the two experts recommended.

Aside from the spray, other non-chemical solutions recommended by RCPC are the cutting of vegetation and digging of shallow ditches.

Army-worms are nocturnal moth larvae that travel in multitudes, destroying any kind of vegetation including grass and grain on their path. One egg mass is equivalent to 100 to300 eggs, which turn into voracious defoliators once hatched. They are most destructive during their larval stage, which lasts 14-24 days, Manzanilla said.

The initial attack of armyworms in the first district of Batangas was reported early July. Since then, the DA thru the BPI and RCPC has been conducting monitoring and assessment activities to control further damage.

For her part, Cuaterno said the DA-BPI has been conducting a series of seminars since 2nd quarter 2009 until 1st quarter 2010 to warn and enjoin regional, provincial and municipal agriculturists, crop protection specialists and technicians, and Integrated Pest Management or Kalikasan farmer-cooperators to prepare for occurrence of pests and diseases as a result of the prolonged dry spell due to El Niño phenomenon.

Such pests include armyworms, cutworms, locusts, and field rats, and crop diseases such as tungro and bacteria leaf blight.

For more information, you may contact Ms. Wilma Cuaterno, BPI Crop Protection Division, at 0919-617-72-09 and Cecille Manzanilla, DA-4A Regional Crop Protection Center , 0928-7070-43-71. # # #(DA Info Service)