Integrated Management of Leafminer on Potato

Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines 4030
Fax: (63 49) 536 0016
E-mail: pcarrd@dost.gov.ph, 2003-11-01

The leafminer (Liriomyza huidobrensis Balanchard) originated in Central and South America, and has only recently become a pest in Asia. Integrated pest management (IPM) technology to control leafminer was developed in response to an outbreak of leafminer in Benguet, northern Philippines, in 1998. The damage to the region's potato crop was estimated to cost around US$6.16 million.

Effectiveness of the Technology

The integrated management technology against leafminer lowered the pest population in Benguet province to a manageable level in about three months.

Returns on Investment

The return on investment (ROI) for the integrated management technology was 88.38%. The traditional process of pesticide spraying at regular intervals had a return of only 58.33%. The cost of production when the integrated approach was used was US$1,888.

This can be compared to the production cost of the traditional method, US$2,222/ha. A savings of US$334/ha was generated by the technology. The net income using integrated pest management technology was US$1,667/ha, or US$371 higher than the net income using traditional practices of US$1,296.29/ha.

Explanation

Leafminer was controlled through the following means:

• Use of tolerant varieties;
• Yellow sticky traps (Fig. 1), and,
• Use of insecticides, applied only when needed.

The use of tolerant varieties spared healthy crops from infestation by leafminer. The use of yellow sticky traps reduced the adult population by almost 75%. Yellow sticky traps can be used again for two more years.

The use of Cyromazine (Trigard 75 WP) alternated with Cartap (Dimotrin SP) at seven-day intervals reduced larval populations by 27%. This gave a 50% reduction of damage. The cost of insecticide applications was reduced by 45%, because chemicals were applied only when they were really needed.

Index of Images

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  Figure 1 Yellow Sticky Traps Placed in Potato Field to Control Leafminer <BR>

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