By Paulo Loreto Lim

Provincial Agriculturist, Atty. Japhet Masculino, recently warned Negros Occidental farmers of a grain bug, which attacks rice fields, and has already affected rice fields in Sipalay City and Hinoba-an.
The grain bug has reportedly damaged a 25-hectare rice field in Sipalay City and a half-hectare field in Hinoba-an.
“We are warning our farmers to be wary not only against black bugs but also of this grain bug,” he stated.
Last month, the black bug affected rice plantations in La Carlota City and Candoni.
Masculino added, he has already sought assistance from the Department of Agriculture and is currently awaiting the arrival of pesticides to handle the problem.
In terms of the black bug infestation, the provincial agriculturist credited light trapping operations and the use of metarhizium, a type of pesticide./WDJ