The Department of Agriculture will invite experts from Sun & Earth Microbiology LLC, a Florida-headquartered biotechnology company, to help eliminate Cecid fly infestation that undermines Philippine mango production and export.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the DA is open to the idea of testing the products of Sun & Earth, whose chief executive officer Guillermo William Vazquez had earlier helped control  fusarium wilt in bananas—a fungus that causes discoloration and wilting that eventually kills the plant.

Sec. Tiu Laurel is also interested in products that will address fusarium wilt that affects banana, abaca and coconut trees—all major agricultural exports of the Philippines. He also showed interest in the U.S. company’s product to address the problem with rice bugs. 

Sun & Earth plans to use biological microbes that had been successfully tested against the insects in Venezuela, Columbia and Vietnam to address Cecid fly problem in Palawan, where mango production on some 100,000 hectares of orchard had been affected. The US biotechnology company also uses biological control agents to paralyze Cecid flies.

The flies destroy up to 80 percent of mango fruits, with those affected showing brown scab-like spots. These pests usually start infesting mango trees shortly after flowering.

While Sun & Earth expressed some concerns about clearances from the Food and Drug Administration for its customized products, DA Undersecretary for Operations Roger Navarro said the agency will discuss the matter with FDA. ###