AREAS affected by the red striped soft-scale insect (RSSI) infestation in the country have expanded to 2,249.48 hectares as of June 5, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) reported on Monday.
This marks a 460.55-hectare increase the affected area, or 25.74 percent more from a week earlier.
RSSI (pulvinaria tenuivalvata) is a destructive, sap-sucking pest that targets sugarcane. First detected in the Philippines in 2022, it has since become a major agricultural concern due to its devastating impact on crop health and sugar production.
The number of affected farmers also rose by 239 or 27.5 percent, while 23 more barangay (villages) or 13.4 percent more have been infested.
Bago City in Negros Occidental was the most critical hotspot with the largest single increase of 285.39 hectares in affected areas at 406.02 hectares from the previous 120.63 hectares.
Negros Occidental remains the center of RSSI infestation, accounting for about 91 percent of total affected areas in the Visayas.
Iloilo had the fastest geographic spread, with reports of newly affected municipalities and barangay.
The SRA said it had conducted an aerial drone insecticide spraying operation last week at a farm in La Castellana, Negros Occidental.
The operation used a dual-action insecticide mixture containing etofenprox (30 percent), which kills insects on contact or ingestion, and dinotefuran (20 percent), a systemic insecticide absorbed by the plant, the SRA said.
The use of drone technology is part of swift, efficient, and precise efforts to address the spread of RSSI in sugarcane-cultivating regions, the SRA said, to reduce pest populations, minimize crop damage, and improve sugarcane productivity in affected areas while minimizing harm to existing sugarcane crops.
Continuous monitoring and follow-up interventions are ongoing to assess the effectiveness of the initiative and improve the overall RSSI management program of the La Carlota Mill District, the SRA added. Giselle Jordan