Insect pests and their associated natural enemies on lowland potato grown in Batac, Ilocos Norte [Philippines]
2019
Legaspi, N.B. | Atis, M.I. | Sagsagat, F.C. | Lucas, M.P. | Reyes, C.P. | Barrion, A.T. | Amalin, D.M.
Previous researches confirmed that potato can be cultivated in the warm Ilocos [Philippines] lowlands. Hence, the Lowland Potato Production Technology was developed to increase potato production where it proved feasible, profitable and socially acceptable. The diversity of cropping in the region, however, encourages built-up of insect pets. The abundance of insect pests and their associated natural enemies was documented to assess the sustainability of lowland potato production under a bio-based pest management strategy. Fifteen heat-tolerant potato varieties were planted in Batac, Ilocos Norte in November 2018. To obtain natural pest pressure and biological control occurrence in the test field, no chemical was sprayed throughout the growing period. Monitoring was done through beating and pitfall methods at vegetative and mature crop stages. Insect count, sorting and identification was done in the laboratory and yielded eight orders of insect pests dominated by thrips. Among potato varieties, Bengueta was the most susceptible to thrips infestation. Six species of natural enemies were identified including ants and spiders. The performance of potato varieties was also assessed in terms of yield. Of the 15, three performed the best: Gloria (8.89 t/ha, Raniag (8.19 t/ha), and Meva (6.24 t/ha). Successful growing of lowland potato is possible without chemical spraying. This could be used as springboard in developing a sustainable lowland potato farming system with biological control as one of the measures in its pest management program.
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