The Problem With Mangoes Is The Mangoes – How To Save The Mango Industry From Dying Because Of The Cecid Infestation

Here, you are not going to see an image of a cecid fly whose species is now deeply troubling mango farms in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. Why because according to my agricultural eyes physical and mental, the problem is somewhere else.

(mango farm image from dotproperty.com.ph)

As I write this, the “2^nd Luzon Mango Congress is going on, 24-25 March 2022, at the Bureau of Soils & Water Management (BSWM) next to the Department of Agriculture (DA) headquarters in Quezon City. Why is this Congress important? Well, Luzon produces 45% of the mangoes in the Philippines (DA.gov.ph).

Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture William Dar addressed the Congress, saying as according to his Facebook sharing 24 March 2022, “I challenged them to implement collectively the management and control protocols against the cecid fly. The communities of mango must unite to control the cecid fly!”

Oh, I am sure they are united – but so far, that unity has not eliminated the common enemy called the Cecid Fly. This is the 2^nd Congress; the 1^st was held 20 Feb 2020 at the exact same venue – 2 years later, exact same problem!

(Secretary Dar), guest speaker during the First Luzon Mango Congress held on 20 Feb 2019 at the (BSWM), proposed that good investment in agricultural research could properly handle the infestation of (cecid) and other industry-specific problems facing the agriculture sector (DA.gov.ph).

He urged the mango industry stakeholders and concerned DA agencies to enhance the protocol on the Good Agricultural Practices… on mango production, making use of the latest agronomy and integrated pest management practices.

Here we are at the 2^nd Luzon Mango Congress at the same venue – with the same goal: “Saving the Mango Industry.”

I have been reading  the CropLife Training Manual On Mango Production I downloaded from CropLife.org.ph, and I note this particularly: “Weak and undernourished mango trees are susceptible to pest infestations. “

Therefore, since the cecid fly infestation is all over the Philippines, it tells us that those mango trees are undernourished! No, chemical fertilizers are not enough – they supply only the nutrients you paid for: N, P, K, Mg and micronutrients if any. The time is ripe to try applying organic fertilizers to your trees!

There’s More. Earth Observing System says about monoculture (eos.com), “Too many of the same plant species in one field area… (result) in decreasing varieties of bacteria and microorganisms… needed to maintain fertility of the soil.” I say, more than that, any monoculture does not grow another crop that harbors natural enemies of the pest in question. So: How do you defeat the cecid fly, the one pest that is killing PH mango industry? Frank A Hilario says, “Don’t apply Pesticide – instead apply Knowledge!”

I said above, “The problem with mangoes is mangoes.” That is to say, your mango farms are all monocultures, single-species plantings. So:

My advice? Those plant species that are hosts to natural enemies of the cecid fly, find & grow them along with your mango trees!@517