SRA uses drones vs sugarcane insects in Negros Occidental

THE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) on Monday said it utilized the use of drones in spraying insecticides in a sugarcane farm in Barangay Camandag, La Castellana, Negros Occidental amid efforts to control the red-striped soft scale insect infestation.

The SRA said that favorable weather conditions and collaboration with farmers helped in making the operation a success, with monitoring and subsequent interventions being performed to evaluate its effectiveness and to improve the program’s operations within the La Carlota Mill District.

According to the agency, aerial spraying operations helped improve pest control measures and brought positive effects to sugarcane farmers.

“By utilizing aerial spraying tools and skilled personnel, the agency seeks to deliver a swift, efficient, and precise application of control measures, thereby reducing pest populations, minimizing crop damage, and improving sugarcane productivity in affected areas,” the SRA said in a report.

The SRA also said via Viber that complete eradication is not expected in the near future as it concentrates on minimizing the effects of the insect’s infestation in the Visayas region, where cane points were placed under strict testing to ensure that the infestation does not spread elsewhere.

The agency reported that Visayas has a high level of concentration of the red-striped soft scale insect, with 2,249.48 hectares of sugarcane farms and 1,108 farmers affected by infestation as of June 5. Negros Occidental was the most affected province in the region, with more than 2,000 hectares of sugarcane farms affected. — Marron Joshua F. Mendoza