DPM renovates biocontrol lab to capacitate research, extension services

To assist the project on Asiatic Palm Weevil (APW), a type of pest that is a major threat to coconut production, the VSU Department of Pest Management (DPM) upgraded the old biocontrol room into a bigger facility capable of mass-producing biocontrol agents or beneficial microorganisms to control pests of coconut and other intercrops.

Under the funded project entitled “Upgrading of a Mass Production Facility for Biological Control Agents to Support Sustainable Pest Management of Coconut and Intercrops in Eastern Visayas” led by Dr. Justine Bennette H. Millado, the improved laboratory served as the solution to provide more adept space for testing biocontrol agents, since the previous laboratory lacked proper storage facilities to maintain these agents. 

"With improved facilities and a projected 50% increase in production, farmers can readily request for agents, and evaluation of the biocontrol agents against APW and other pests, and even intercrops, can be easily performed,” the project suggested. 

The newly-refurbished facility named Beneficials and Biocontrol Laboratory or B2L (pronounced as ‘beetle’) was soft-launched on July 11, 2024, during the inauguration and site visit of the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCCAARD) to its funded projects at VSU.

VSU DPM extended its gratitude to the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP) through its Coconut Hybridization Program for supporting the renovation of the biocontrol laboratory.

This five million B2L is a merged facility between the biotech, biocon, and weed science laboratories. It has sections for insect biology studies and rearing, microbial isolation, testing, mass production, and molecular analysis.

The old biocontrol laboratory of DPM was damaged during Super Typhoons Haiyan (Yolanda), Rai (Odette), and Tropical Storm Megi (Agaton). In previous cases, many of the biocontrol agents were lost. They were not molecularly characterized yet because of the lack of proper storage facilities and the unavailability of the technology to maintain these agents.

Thus, a new facility with new equipment is needed to mass produce biocontrol agents and improve biocontrol and pest management research.

On top of that, this new biocontrol laboratory will be the research and development arm of the Philippine Coconut Authority and Department of Agriculture-Regional Crop Protection Center, coconut farmers, Visayas Consortium for Agriculture, Aquatic and Resources Program (ViCARP), VSU constituents, and other stakeholders.

DOST-PCAARRD Executive Director Dr. Reynaldo V. Ebora together with other officials of the funding agency inspected B2L and other PCAARRD-funded laboratories and facilities in the university and was assisted by VSU's Vice President for Research, Extension, and Innovation and the New ViCARP Director Dr. Santiago T. Peña, Jr.

With this upgraded laboratory, the university sees it as the center of biocontrol studies in the region that can extend help to farmers and government agencies.

[This article aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals: 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 4 (Quality Education), 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), 15 (Life on Land), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).]

• Prev
• Next