Government readies new quarantine treatment for mango

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) is ready for a technology transfer of the quarantine treatment of Philippine carabao mangoes following the approval of the United States’ Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Dr. Alumanda dela Rosa, PNRI director, said the US’ Federal Register had already published the final rule approving the quarantine treatment of Philippine mangoes using gamma irradiation against the local mango pulp weevil .

The approval has been certified by the USDA-Animal and Plant Heath Inspection Service-Center for Plant Health Science and Technology (ISDA-APHIS-CPHST).

Dela Rosa said the PNRI was willing to hand over the quarantine treatment technology to the Department of Agriculture (DA) and any potential private sector partner to provide the quarantine treatment services to local mango growers and exporters.

The irradiation facility, located in PNRI’s compound in Quezon City,  already has its hands full servicing the local spice industry requirements.

“The DA has already commissioned a feasibility study on setting up another irradiation facility,” Dela Rosa told the Star in an interview.

The approval of the PNRI’s quarantine treatment protocol using gamma irradiation will allow the Philippine carabao mango industry to export to the US and other big foreign markets which only accept “super mangoes” from Guimaras.

“Because right now, only Guimaras can export super mangoes (to the US). Now, we can export mangoes from other parts except Palawan which is already notorious for having mango pulp weevil,” she said.