Agriculturist orders close watch on ‘cocolisap’ in Zamboanga City

Coconut Farm / Wikipedia Photo

ZAMBOANGA CITY — City Agriculturist Diosdado Palacat has ordered his field technicians to inspect and keep close watch on the coconut farms in their respective areas to ensure the coconuts are free from scale insects or cocolisap infestation.

This as Palacat has advised local coconut farmers to adopt the intercropping system to prevent if not mitigate cocolisap infestation.

Intercropping means farmers should plant other crops like banana, cassava and others in between rows of coconuts.

Palacat explained that the coclisap will first attack the other crops in intercrop farming instead of directly invading the coconut trees, thus, preventing if not mitigating cocolisap infestation.

This city has a total of 35,000 hectares of coconut farms spread all over the six agricultural districts that covers the 98 barangays.

Palacat confirmed that cocolisap have already infested some farms in this city’s west coast.

However, he said affected in the infestation are fruit-bearing trees like lanzones.

He also told farmers that cocolisap could be eliminated through spraying water mixed with detergent.

Meanwhile, Palacat has also ordered his field technicians to keep watch against all other types of insects to include the army worms.