Current status and management of golden apple snail in South Vietnam
2002
Huan, N.H. (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Vietnam). Dept. of Plant Protection) Joshi, R.C.
The golden snail (GAS), Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck) introduction into Vietnam around 1988 for food was illegal. Such introductions gained entry without passing through standard quarantine procedures. Golden apple snail was first reported in 1993 as a rice pest in Vietnam, with severe infestations localized to southern provinces, along Mekong River. Since then, GAS continues to be a major constraint for rice cultivation, aside from its damage to vegetables and other landscapes. During the past two years heavy floods in Mekong Delta- the main rice bowl in Vietnam, dispersed GAS freely, leading to large-scale damage to rice crops. Compared with past records, GAS destruction on rice escalated strongly from 1999-2001. Golden apple snail management in Vietnam is largely community-based IPM [integrated pest management] with farmers' active participation. The Prime Minister in 1994 and 1995 passed legislative mesures to contain GAS. The Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (PDARD) at the start of each rice cropping season mobilizes and encourages farmers to hand pick GAS and collect eggmasses along canals, irrigation systems and in rice fields after land preparation. Farmers use them to feed their duck and fish cultures. Farmers rarely use commercial synthetic molluscicides because of their high cost and toxicity. The results of the on-farm trials on the role of fish as biocontrol agents and efficacy of three kinds of plant molluscicides are discussed. Difficulties to identify a potential microbial control agent also highlighted
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