SCIENCE TO THE RESCUE OF THE COCONUT INDUSTRY

Emil Q. Javier
Chair, Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines (CAMP)
Member, National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST-DOST)
Insect Outbreaks
Insect outbreaks occur when new strains/species of insects are introduced into areas
where they have no or very few natural enemies. However, eventually nature corrects itself;
biological control agents appear and multiply in sufficient numbers to control the invaders. But
this new state of equilibrium could take years and by then farmers would have suffered heavy
losses.
The new coconut scale insect (CSI) devastating coconuts in Batangas, Laguna, Cavite
and Quezon has been identified as Aspidiotus rigidus, which is different from the more common
Aspidiotus destructor.
The immediate challenge to the CSI outbreak is to arrest/contain the further spread of CSI
from the current adversely affected areas to the rest of the country. The idea is to reduce CSI
population, slow down its spread in order to give the time for the insects natural enemies to
multiply.
Scale insects are naturally preyed upon by wasps, coccinelid beetles, earwigs and
lacewings, and also infected by fungi. Our key agricultural research agencies (PCA, UPLB and
PCAARRD-DOST) are working double time to artificially rear these potential biocontrol agents
in great numbers to release them in outbreak areas. Nevertheless, their efforts are relatively puny
considering the gravity of the situation. Their efforts should be multiplied ten-fold to make a
difference.
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Contact vs Systemic Pesticides
Scale insects are ubiquitous pests on many crops. They are relatively easy to
manage/control with commercially available pesticides. In fact household detergents and oils
which are inexpensive and safe to humans and the environment have been demonstrated to be
effective against scale insects.
The problem of CSI control is the difficulty and costs of applying pesticides/detergents
on tall coconut trees many of which grow on steep hillsides and in inaccessible places.
Fire trucks full of detergents and with power boom sprayers are okay for coconut farms
along roads during the dry season but their reach will be limited.
Thus use of insecticides whether chemical, organic or botanical in origin, whose mode of
action requires physical contact with the insect pest, is constrained by the cost of application.
The solution is to deploy the family of insecticides which are systemic i.e., the active ingredients
get into the plant parts and sap. The susceptible insects which eat the leaves and stems and/or
suck the plant sap die or fail to reproduce.
There are several organic and/or botanical pesticides which local suppliers/inventors
claim as effective against CSI. However, they have yet to demonstrate their efficacy, safety to
humans and the environment and cost effectiveness. Before they can be adopted in massive scale
using public funds, the suppliers/vendors must provide the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority
(FPA) proper, scientifically vetted and reproducible proof to substantiate their claims.
The burden of proof rests with the technology suppliers/vendors but given the urgency of
need, the government should be proactive and determine which among the new organics and
botanicals have the most potential and facilitate their testing. However, testing all products will
be very expensive and therefore further verification can be directed to only, say, 2 or 3 of the
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most promising. To eliminate bias, government may constitute an impartial panel of scientific
experts to identify the products with most potential.
Neonicotinoid Pesticides
Among agricultural pesticides, the most commonly used worldwide are the family of
chemicals called neonicotinoids. These neonicotinoids attack the nervous systems of insects and
cause their death. They are toxic to insects but relatively benign to mammals, including humans.
They are effective under very low concentrations and are not persistent in the environment.
And among the neonicotinoids, the newest, the safest and most promising is
DINOTEFURAN, a third-generation formulation which is Category IV in toxicity. Category I
pesticides are most toxic and persistent and now practically banned worldwide. FPA certifies
only those pesticides belonging to Category II or better.
However, Dinotefuran has not been used on coconut. The most cost effective mode of
application is yet to be determined. It could be applied as aerial spray; incorporated into the soil
like fertilizers, or bored into the coconut bark or trunk. Incorporating Dinotefuran into the soil
like fertilizer is easy but more pesticides will be needed, the effectivity delayed and efficacy
problematic. Aerial spraying with airplanes is likewise relatively easy and cost effective.
However, resistance/objections from the rural communities will be strong despite assurances that
Dinotefuran is relatively benign to people. Thus, the preferred option for now is boring the
insecticide into the coconut bark and trunk.
But neonicotinoids, including Dinotefuran, have a serious drawback they are toxic to
non-target economic insects like honeybees and silkworm. Honeybees, of course, are very
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important, not so much for their honey, but for their beneficial role in pollinating fruit crops,
vegetables and other crops.
The coconut is naturally cross-pollinated by wind and by other insects like flies and
beetles so the loss of honeybees will not be serious for the coconut industry.
Trade Off Between Honeybees and the Coconut Industry
The trade off that need to be resolved therefore is between decimation of honeybees
versus the prospective death of the coconut industry upon which millions of Filipino farmers
depend for their livelihood and which industry accounts for the lion share of our agriculture
exports.
However, the trade off need not be taken to the extreme since the conflict could be
localized and intelligently managed.
The insecticide will be deployed in a large scale, only in the limited geographical areas
where CSI outbreak is severe. As soon as the CSI outbreak is arrested and subsides, the
insecticide application will be discontinued. The damage will not be permanent since the
honeybee population in nearby untreated areas will recolonize the outbreak areas. Moreover
government can hasten honeybee population build up by bringing in new farmed beehives.
By then also the government program of mass multiplication and dispersal of natural
biocontrol agents would have gotten off the ground.
Trade Off Between Organic Versus Conventional Coconut Production
The other trade off that needs to be managed is the loss of the organic status of coconut
farms which supply organic coconut water in the world trade.
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However, this trade off is really between public and private goods. The few fortunate
coconut farmers and cocowater processors/exporters who receive a premium for organic coconut
water need not adopt the use of chemical pesticides and conventional fertilizers deemed most
cost effective by responsible government institutions. They can always use the organic pesticides
and/or botanicals offered by commercial providers but at their own cost and risk.
Conclusion
The CSI outbreak need not be the end of the Philippine coconut industry. Just like the
Psyllids insect outbreak which damaged ipil-ipil trees more than a decade ago, nature will take
its course and a new balance between coconut scale insect and their natural enemies will take
place.
In the meantime government can take vigorous measures to arrest/contain the spread of
CSI, with chemical, organic and botanical pesticides, as appropriate. The research agencies
should ramp up their scientific activities to identify the most effective natural enemies of CSI,
facilitate their mass rearing and determine their most cost effective deployment.
But most importantly government though PCA, DA, the LGUs and the state colleges and
universities should launch a massive coconut replanting and intercropping program to raise total
farm productivity, generate additional employment and raise the income of coconut farmers.
-End-