“[We have] recommended to the farmers the cutting down of the dead coconut trees in their respective area [to avoid further infestation],” she said.
Silva urged farmers across the region to be vigilant and to closely watch their coconut trees, especially those under 12 years old because these are the most vulnerable to the weevil infestation.
Citing a joint report by the regional offices of the PCA and RCPC, Amalia Datukan, DA-12 regional director, said the palm weevil has affected a farmer with a 10-hectare coconut plantation in Barangay Kamansi inAlamada town.
Barangay Mabasa was also infested by the palm weevil infestation where the same ages of trees were attacked, she added.
The report confirmed the death of at least five coconut trees due to weevil infestation.
“Based on the field monitoring and validation, 785coconut trees have been infested by the weevil,” Datukan said.[]
She said that based on the degree of infestation, the pest could have been around for almost a year.
It became evident only after the leaves of the coconut trees turned yellowish and the entry points of the weevils had become visible, Datukan said.
She urged local government units and agricultural extension workers to regularly conduct field monitoring in a bid to stem the spread of the palm weevil and brontispa infestation in the region.
“Brontispa infestation has been observed to be quickly increasing in the region, particularly in the town of Malungon in Sarangani province,” she said in an earlier statement.
Brontispa or coconut leaf beetle feeds on young leaves and damages seedlings and mature coconut palms. This insect belongs to the order Coleoptera and Chrysomelidae family along with a number of beetlespecies.[]
