𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐂𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐗 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟐𝟐-𝟐𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒.
Published by Crop Pest Management Division
The technical staff of the Bureau of Plant Industry-Crop Pest Management Division (BPI-CPMD) together with the DA-Regional Crop Protection Center IX (DA-RCPC), and the City and Municipal Agriculture Offices conducted field validation on cecid fly and other pest and diseases of mango in selected municipalities and barangays in Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, and Zamboanga del Norte on April 22-26, 2024.
Based on visual observations, the pests that were mainly present in the field were mango hopper (piti piti) and thrips which infest the flower or panicle; fruitfly (lampinig) which infest fruits; and anthracnose which infect leaves. According to mango growers or contractors, the mango cecid fly (buti) is normally observed during cold months or in the rainy season. However, this cecid fly will disappear during the dry season.
Their management strategies to minimize infestations are the following: bagging of fruits ranged from 45 -55 days, installation of yellow sticky traps, and application of pesticides and biopesticides.
The issues and concerns of the owners are the pests, dry spell, and not equal sharing of profit between them and their contractors. Some farmers are frustrated and tend to cut their trees since agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, herbicides, and maintenance of their farms were shouldered by them and their share was only 25 or 30%. The mango growers requested the team to visit their farms again and to conduct farmer’s training to capacitate them regarding good agricultural practices, new technologies to ensure good harvest, and to be able to enter the competitive market access.
