Farmers have been able to manage and stop the further spread of rice black bug in Negros Occidental, resulting in very minimal damage to rice crops in the province, the regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday.
DA Negros Island Region Director Renato Manantan told the BusinessMirror the black bug, which recently infested 161 hectares of plantations in 10 barangays in Negros Occidental, no longer threatens rice crops.
The damage caused by the infestation has been negligible. We have controlled the situation before it got worse, Manantan said in a phone interview.
