Bacolod City: Both government agencies and private sector have implemented measures to combat the armyworm infestation affecting corn and sugarcane fields across four local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental’s fifth district, reported Philippine News Agency.
The affected areas encompass villages in Isabela, Binalbagan, Moises Padilla, and Himamaylan City.
Representative Emilio Bernardino Yulo of Negros Occidental’s 5th District, who is overseeing the situation, has notified the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) about the infestation.
Yulo, along with personnel from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), conducted a demonstration on chemical control methods for the infestation in Sitio Iling-iling, Barangay Cabadiangan, Himamaylan City last Thursday.
“The majority of the affected crops are sugarcane, although some cornfields have also been impacted. Our goal is to prevent the infestation from spreading further and recurring,” Yulo explained in an interview.
Reports of infestation have been confirmed in cornfields in Barangay Santol, Binalbagan, and Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, he added.
Dina Genzola, head of the OPA, mentioned that their team is conducting an assessment and validation of the armyworm infestation in collaboration with the affected LGUs.
