Bananas in Roxas infected with ‘bugtok’

Farmers in Roxas town were alarmed by the existence of disease affecting banana of saba variety since last year, the municipal agriculture office said on Tuesday.

Edgar Padul, Municipal Agriculturist, confirmed that they have observed the presence of disease locally known as “bugtok” and many among the local farmers have been complaining about it. He said that the banana fruits are unable to mature or do not reach its normal size because of the disease.

“Kung titingnan mo ang bunga ng saging saba ay normal naman. Makikita mo sa labas na green na green sya pero ang ilalim nun ay itim na. Ang mga saging na may ganitong sakit ay hindi lumalaki ang bunga,” he said.

Padul explained that they have already reported the presence of “bugtok” disease in Roxas town to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) of the Department of Agriculture (DA). Their office is expecting the BPI to visit their place, conduct inspection of the banana plantation and initiate measures on how to prevent the spread of the disease.

“Last year lang natin ito na-obserbahan at nagreport na kami kaagad. Ngayon na nakikita nating ang saging ay nagka peste ay mayroon tayong mga moves na gagawin,” he said.

Aside from the “bugtok” positively detected by local agriculturists in bananas, a disease that caused that removal of leaves in coconut trees was also reported in Roxas.

Padul explained that several coconut farmers reported to his office about the disease observed in coconut trees. They inspected the sites and after confirming, they reported it to the local office of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) in Palawan.

“Pinaabot na rin natin yan sa PCA pero hindi pa lang na-aksyonan ng kanilang field officers na na-assign dito. Itong sa niyog ay makikita mo na na-uubos ang kanyang dahon,” he further said.