ONION and garlic growers in the province of Nueva Ecija and surrounding areas will be having the means to protect their crops, and eventually prevent the widespread infestation of pests and diseases.
In order to avert enormous losses, interventions can be implemented ahead of time by utilizing the tools and techniques of information and communications technology (ICT).
This development came after a project dubbed āSurveillance, detection, and mapping of leaf miner and anthracnose-twister diseases in onion and garlicā is now working on a comprehensive approach to extremely observe, investigate, and map the presence of the different diseases in identified sites of the affected province.
The approach includes preventive measures, management strategies, and establishment of service centers to assist the affected farmers.
Through the process, manual disease surveillance will be eliminated, which is usually inaccurate, expensive, and even time-consuming.
Under the new system, the ICT project will be using computer-based tools and software, remotely sensed data, unmanned aerial vehicle and satellite imageries, spectral signatures of infestations in onions at different phenological stages, meteorological data, and other data from existing reliable providers.
It is now being implemented by the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) through the funding support of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the monitoring mechanism of the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD).
The project which started in July 2018 is being conducted by the CLSU in cooperation with the Regional Crop Protection Center of the Region-3 office of the Department of Agriculture.
So far, the project which is expected to be completed by September next year has already updated the topographic base maps of onion and garlic plantations in the province of Nueva Ecija.
It has also generated the maps of leaf miner infestations in the said province from December 2018 to January 2019.
Reports submitted to PCAARRD showed that practically all the municipalities in Nueva Ecija were affected, except for the town of Lupao.
The highest leaf miner infestation was recorded in Rizal town with an area of 185.45 hectares or 14.31 percent of the total area of 1,295.87 hectares that are planted with onion.
While the lowest infestation was recorded in the municipalities of Aliaga, Talavera, and Pantabangan.
The project has also generated initial maps regarding the infestation of anthracnose-twister in the onion and garlic plantations in the selected areas of Nueva Ecija.
All the generated maps indicating the infestations of the diseases as of January 2019 were already turned over to the officials of the different Municipal Agriculture Offices in Nueva Ecija, the Regional Crop Protection Center, and to the other stakeholders for deliberation.
Early detection will enable the concerned offices to implement necessary measures to avoid the spread of the diseases.
Without the program, yield loss due to anthracnose-twister and leaf miner infestations can go as high as 80 percent.
Following its projected completion, the program is expected to establish a plant hospital, and a pest and disease surveillance and research center in the affected areas. (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)
