MAA, Davao City – With the alarming infestation of Cecid Fly in mango orchards of Luzon and continuous spreading throughout the country, a 5-day Training of Trainers on Insecticide Resistance Management for Cecid Fly in Mango was conducted last May 20-24, 2019.

The training was designed to equip the key players and focal persons of the High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) with appropriate knowledge on the management of Cecid Fly.

Cecid fly is a very tiny kind of midge that could hardly be identified with the naked eye. It causes black spots or marks on the skin of the mango fruit that greatly decreases its quality making them unfit for export. Minor damages on cecid fly infestation has been recorded in Davao region.

Mango Experts from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) discussed the topics on Mango Phenology, Mango Insect Pests and their behavior, Insecticide Toxicology, Insecticide Resistance Management and, Andragogy.

UP researchers also introduced a website that will help farmers in planning insecticide application for different insect problems. To intensify the learning process, the participants conducted a field visit at Mango Research Center of Davao del Norte and mango orchard located in the Island Garden City of Samal.

Agriculturist II Engr. Joel M. Laure of ATI-Regional Training Center 13 and Romer S. Amante, HVCDP technical staff of DA-Regional Field Office 13 were among the 40 participants of the said training (with report from Joel M. Laure)