Around 200 hectares of coconut trees in the southern province of Tien Giang have been damaged by black-headed caterpillars.
Xuan Dong Commune in Cho Gao District is among the localities hardest hit by the black-headed caterpillar. Tran Quoc Tuan, a local resident, said that the insect had appeared in the commune over the past four months. He administered pesticides for his coconut trees four times, but the insect remained.
Around 200 hectares of coconut trees in the southern province of Tien Giang have been damaged by black-headed caterpillars
Up to 192 hectares of coconut trees owned by 442 households in Dong Xuan have been affected by the black-headed caterpillar. Using chemicals is seen as the most effective measure to protect the trees.
However, many coconut groves are decades old, with trees reaching tens of metres in height, causing difficulties for spraying pesticides. Some households have to hire workers to spray the trees at a rate of VND10,000-12,000 per tree.
Dong Thi Xuan, 68, said that her family lives off their coconut grove. But the black-headed caterpillar has caused coconut trees to fall prematurely. Despite spraying pesticides several times, productivity has severely dropped.
Xuan Dong Commune’s authorities have been instructed to set up a taskforce to help local residents in spraying pesticides in their coconut groves.
The problem has also been reported to the district, Nguyen Van Muoi, chairman of the Xuan Dong Commune People’s Committee, said. He added that 95 percent of households in the commune grow coconut trees.
Earlier, the black-headed caterpillar ravaged 70,000 hectares of coconuts in Ben Tre Province.