Fall seen in Ilocos mango harvests

LAOAG CITY—Mango production in some areas of Ilocos Norte may fall short of the province’s expected yield this year due to a cecid fly infestation that has been attacking mango plantations.

Edwin Cariño, an agriculturist and chair of the Ilocos Norte Millennium Development Goals program, reported on Wednesday that several mango growers had observed a decline in their production due to infestation caused by cecid flies, known locally as “kurikong” or “buti.”

Earlier this year, mango growers in Pangasinan  complained that up

to 40 percent of the province’s 460-hectare mango plantations in 21 towns were attacked by the flies.

The same infestation may have crossed into the southern towns of Ilocos Norte, such as Badoc, Pinili and  Currimao,  and Batac City, Cariño said.

He said this was the first recorded incidence of cecid fly infestation of mango farms in the province.

Experts from  Mariano Marcos State University in Batac City said an adult cecid fly, which resembles a mosquito, lays eggs on young mango leaves.

Its larva buries itself into the leaves, producing dark green circular galls or a swelling of tissues along the leaf blade. The adult fly emerges from the galls, leaving marks that are mistaken for fungal infections. Leilanie Adriano, Inquirer Northern Luzon