Fall armyworm (FAW) began to threaten some rice fields in the Philippines, prompting the Department of Agriculture (DA) to prepare the country’s rice research and development workers for the possible infestation in more farms.
A statement showed that DA’s Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) recently tapped the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) in conducting intensive training among rice technical workers in the country to prepare for possible FAW infestation.
Fall armyworm feeds on several plant species, causing serious damage in crops such as corn, rice, and sugarcane. It is native to the tropical regions of the western hemisphere from the United States to Argentina but has quickly become prevalent across Southeast Asia since it arrived in the region in 2018.
In the Philippines, FAW infestation was first reported in June 2019 in Piat, Cagayan Province, already causing billions of damages in corn.
Working with pest experts from CABI, PhilRice plans to craft strategies in developing and disseminating pest management protocol for rice technicians and extension workers, who are closely engaged with rice and rice-based farming systems farmers in times of pest infestation.
CABI is an international organization that has expertise in providing technical information and assistance to address agricultural and environmental problems.
According to PhilRice, CABI was already able to share with Filipino rice technical workers the tools used by pest experts from Malaysia, India, United Kingdom, and Africa to combat FAW.
Done through a three-day online session held last June, identifying and managing FAW were presented to 49 researchers and extension workers from PhilRice, Bureau of Plant and Industry (BPI), DA’s Regional Crop Protection and Management Center (RCPMC) in Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon, and local government units (LGUs) of Pampanga, Tarlac, and Pangasinan.
The training is under the PhilRice and CABI project titled “Monitoring the Occurrence, Host Plant Specificity, and Management of the Fall Armyworm in- and around-Rice Ecosystems in Selected Provinces in the Philippines”. This was funded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR).
According to Genaro Rillon, PhilRice’s crop protection expert, the training was very timely and relevant as the DA’s existing management protocol on FAW only applies to corn.
He said that a protocol is required for rice because its cultivation is different from corn.
“Early preparedness is necessary as any pest invasion on rice is a threat to food security,” said PhilRice’s FAW Project Team Leader Evelyn Valdez.
In the past cropping season, FAW was observed affecting not only corn but also rice crops in Cagayan and in other parts of Region 2.
Minda Flor Aquino, chief of RCPMC, reported on May 20 that affected rice crops are mostly at the seedling stage.
In a series of technical briefings conducted in affected and adjacent rice fields, DA Cagayan Valley advised farmers to observe early symptoms, such as cut/damaged leaf margins and sightings of larvae in the area.