Tungro spreads to 71.5 hectares rice fields in Asturias

CEBU, Philippines —  The area affected by the tungro in Asturias town has increased to 71.5 hectares from 54 hectares, according to the latest data obtained from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

There are a total of 110 families affected, 59 families are from Barangay Lunas and 51 are from Barangay Bago. A state of calamity is still being raised in the two villages. 

PDRRMO and the Provincial Agriculture Office assured the public that no other barangays or towns are affected by tungro.

Provincial Agriculturist Dr. RoldanSaragena said that it is not the first time that the two barangays experienced the ill effects of the virus but this is the first time that it affected a very vast area.

Yesterday, the municipal agriculturist of Asturias town came to the Capitol and picked up food packs for the families of the affected farmers.

Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer II Wilson Ramos said that the Capitol gave away two packs, one for relief and one for the food for work program.

A relief pack contains five kilos of rice and canned goods which will last for three days while the food for work packs is good for five days.

The food for work packs will be distributed to the farmers who will participate in the clearing efforts to remove the traces of the virus.

As per recommendation of the Provincial Agriculturist, the affected plants and neighboring plants or weeds should be burned or plowed.

The seeds of the similarly affected variety should never be used again.

Instead, the farmers are advised to temporarily plant legumes like monggo to stop the life cycle of the virus carrier, the green leafhoppers.

It will be a necessary step to temporarily stop the rice production in the two barangays because rice is the host plant of the green leafhoppers.

After the food for work clearing operations and the crop rotation from rice to legumes, the farmers are advised to synchronize their planting season to eradicate the whole life cycle of the green leafhoppers.

The farmers will have to use a new variety of the rice plant which is tungro-resistant. — MBG (FREEMAN)