Research paves way for entry of RP mangoes to US market

JORDAN, Guimaras — Now it can be said: Research has played a pivotal role in the entry of Philippine mango to the United States market.

Key players in this success story were scientists and institutions that put their collective scientific expertise and resources together to neutralize a pest (fruit fly) that had for years stood as roadblock to the local mango’s penetration into the huge mango market.

Those that played roles in the campaign were the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry-National Mango Research and Development Center (DA-BPI-NMRDC) based DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

DA-BPI-NMRDC and DOST-PNRI served as the program’s implementing agencies while DOST-PCARRD acted as the coordinating agency.

The three-year (November 1999 to October 2002) project, titled Integrated Fruit Fly Management Program in Guimaras Island, had two components.

Project 1, called Mass Production and Irradiation of Fertile Fruit Fly, was funded by DOST and headed by Glenda B. Obra of DOST-PNRI.

Project 2, Male Annihilation Techniques (MAT), was underwritten by DA and led by Dr. Hernani G. Golez, NMRDC head. Dr. Golez was also overall program leader.

Two scientific activities — MAT and Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) — were implemented.

PCARRD, headed by Executive Director Patricio S. Faylon, reported that MAT and SIT are among the latest technologies in the control of fruit flies, which are among the most important pests attacking mangoes and other fruits in the 60,465-hectare island province of Guimaras.

MAT makes use of an attractant (methyl eugenol) and insecticide (malathion) to kill large population of fruit flies in Guimaras, where there are more mango trees (158,355) than inhabitants (about 150,000 people).

Methyl eugenol, when mixed with malathion at a 86:4 ratio and used to soak a suitable carrier such as a 5 x 5 square centimeter fiber board (FBS), can considerably reduce fruit fly population.

Four FBS were distributed per hectare. These were hung on host fruits in orchards and in residential and recreational parks. MAT was applied every 40 days.

In forested areas, two FBS were distributed per hectare with the use of a light CESNA plane of the Bureau of Plant Industry.

But since only male flies are killed through MAT, chances of population buildup could still occur from the remaining number not controlled by the technique.

Thus, SIT was implemented as a follow-up technique.

Under SIT, millions of fruit flies were reared at PNRI under laboratory condition using artificial diet. These insects were made sterile by exposing the pupae (third stage of an insect’s life) to gamma radiation and then released in target areas to mate with the wild fly population.

This results in production of nonviable eggs so that continued release of sterile flies will finally eradicate the population in the area.

"Initial application of MAT and SIT in Guimaras Island proved the successful reduction of the fruit fly population," stressed Angelito Carpio, PCARRD program specialist on fruits.

However, he added, "to achieve a fruit-fly free status for the island, continuous applications of the technique should be done.

The Philippines began exporting mangoes for the first time to the US last May, after a decade of attempts to overcome stringent quality regulations imposed by the US Department of Agriculture.

The government is looking forward to earning about $40 million from the export of fresh Guimaras mango, said to be the "sweetest in the world", to the US.

"We can get a big share of the $220 million US market, and our target is 20 percent of the market in five years," Agriculture Undersecretary Ernesto Ordoñez was quoted as saying when the mango export program was launched in Malacañang in the presence of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, and Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor.

At present, Mexico is the largest mango supplier (seven percent) of the US.

"With our entry into the US market, we expect our mango industry to be our top revenue-generating sector in the next five years," Guimaras Gov. Joaquin Carlos Rahman Nava also said.

The clearance of the Guimaras mango to enter the US market came after a decade of painstaking research conducted by NMRDC on fruit flies.

The research had won for Dr. Golez the prestigious "Pantas" (Sage) award (Most Outstanding Researcher/Scientist) conferred last year by PCARRD, the government body that plans, coordinates, evaluates and monitors research in agriculture, forestry, and natural resources in the country.

His "Pangas" citation reads: "His exemplary contribution to the advancement of agricultural research and development, especially in upgrading and improvement of control systems for fruit fly and weevil, significantly contributed to the declaration of Guimaras as a pest-free zone, hence, paving the export of fresh mangoes to Australia and the USA."