Faced with the situation of black-headed caterpillars developing strongly and causing damage to some coconut gardens in the largest coconut growing area of ​​Tien Giang province, Cho Gao district, the district's Department of Agriculture coordinated with communes with damaged coconut gardens to urgently deploy a general plan to prevent and control black-headed caterpillars that damage coconuts.

According to the report of the Agricultural Service Center of Cho Gao district, as of October 15, the investigation results of the newly infected coconut area of ​​black-headed caterpillar in Cho Gao district in the communes of Xuan Dong, Hoa Dinh, An Thanh Thuy were 245.61 hectares with 620 households having infected coconut gardens, the damage rate was 5 - 10%. The lightly infected area was 105.66 hectares, the moderately infected area was 61.88 hectares, and the heavily infected area was 78.07 hectares.

To control black-headed caterpillars that damage coconut gardens, local authorities continue to disseminate information through district and commune radio systems about the black-headed caterpillar pest situation and prevention and control measures; strengthen training and distribute leaflets on the process of preventing and controlling black-headed caterpillars that damage coconuts.

Ms. Le Trang Thi Kim Ngan, a civil servant in charge of land administration, agriculture and environment in Xuan Dong commune, said: The commune People's Committee has coordinated with the district's Agricultural Service Center to organize seminars to instruct people on how to handle black-headed caterpillar infestations. In the propaganda content, people are instructed on how to spray pesticides as well as how to identify black-headed caterpillars.

In addition, the People's Committee of the commune also established 6 shock teams, in which the Party Committee in charge of the area acted as the team leader to go to each affected household to understand the situation, thoughts, and aspirations as well as distribute propaganda leaflets, make a record for people to commit to following the instructions of the Agricultural Service Center, including: destroying leaves that have been dropped by black-headed caterpillars to avoid widespread spread as well as spraying pesticides.

In addition, the Department of Agriculture mobilizes people to spray lightly infected coconut gardens; cut down and destroy coconut gardens with severe black-headed caterpillar damage that cannot be recovered.

Spraying insecticide to prevent black-headed caterpillars in uninfected coconut gardens in Cho Gao district, Tien Giang province. Tien Giang province authorities recommend that coconut farmers regularly check their coconut gardens and spray insecticide to prevent black-headed caterpillars.

According to statistics, technical staff of the District Agricultural Service Center together with the shock team staff of the Commune People's Committee mobilized farmers to cut down the severely damaged coconut area that could not be restored, totaling 7.72 hectares/1,427 trees in the two communes of Xuan Dong and Hoa Dinh.

At the same time, the Center's staff coordinated with the shock troops of the Commune People's Committee to mobilize farmers to spray 79.6 hectares/226 households.

Mr. Tran Thanh My, technical officer of the Cho Gao District Agricultural Service Center, shared: Faced with the complicated situation of black-headed caterpillars in coconut gardens, the District Agricultural Service Center has held seminars to instruct farmers on how to recognize the harmful symptoms of black-headed caterpillars so that farmers can recognize them and know how to prevent them properly.

Currently, the District Agricultural Service Center has submitted a report to the People's Committee of Cho Gao District and the provincial authorities to have a direction to support coconut farmers. The Center proposed to support the cost of buying pesticides to control the epidemic and the cost of supporting farmers to prune branches to kill pupae and butterflies, the rest we will spray to prevent and control young worms more effectively.

In addition, the Agricultural Service Center of Cho Gao district also coordinated with the Southern Fruit Institute to implement the project of producing coconuts according to organic standards, including effective management of black-headed caterpillars in some coconut gardens in Xuan Dong commune, Cho Gao district, with initial positive results.

Dr. Tran Thi My Hanh, Head of Plant Protection Department, Southern Fruit Institute commented: Given the current situation of harmful pests, Southern Fruit Institute has participated in a research project on coconut production according to organic standards, funded by the Department of Science and Technology of Tien Giang province.

In that topic, we also conducted experiments to manage black-headed caterpillars biologically. Initial results recorded through the use of biological active ingredients combined with purple mushrooms and green mushrooms will achieve 85 - 95% efficiency in managing black-headed caterpillars.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Liem, Director of the Agricultural Service Center of Cho Gao District, said: To effectively control the damage caused by black-headed caterpillars in coconut gardens, the unit proposed that the People's Committee of Cho Gao District provide financial support for farmers to continue to prevent black-headed caterpillars.

The People's Committees of communes with black-headed caterpillar damage should strengthen coordination with the District Agricultural Service Center to continue to mobilize people to prune and destroy coconut leaves before spraying to make prevention more effective; cut down and destroy severely infected coconut trees that cannot recover to prevent the spread.

The District Agricultural Service Center propagates and organizes training for neighboring communes to help farmers identify black-headed caterpillars, the damage caused when coconut gardens are infected with black-headed caterpillars, and preventive measures to avoid widespread spread.

At the same time, technical staff increased the number of parasitic wasps to release on coconut gardens adjacent to infected and uninfected communes to prevent butterflies from infected coconut gardens from flying over to lay eggs and cause damage.

The total coconut area of ​​Tien Giang province currently reaches 21,654 hectares, with a fruit-bearing area of ​​18,116 hectares, a yield of 13.5 tons/hectare, and an output of 244,115 tons/year. From 2015 to present, the coconut area has increased by 5,749 hectares, with an average growth rate of 4.5%/year. According to statistics, when coconut trees enter the stable harvest stage, coconut growers earn an average profit of about 91.2 million VND/hectare/year.