The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) has confirmed that the aerial spraying of fungicides in Mindanao banana plantations is still the best way to control the deadly black sigatoka virus.

In a four-page position paper, FPA said that black sigatoka, also known as black leaf streak (BLS), is caused by Mycosphaerella fijienensis, which reduces the number of functional leaves and makes smaller fruits ripen prematurely in the fields or in transit.

Aerial spraying of fungicides, the agency stressed, is an internationally accepted practice, having started in Latin America in 1950 and in Mindanao two years later.

It is a cost-efficient method, FPA said, and it now uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) and target flow controllers and flow meters to minimize drift.

No less than 5,000 hectares of land are devoted to banana cultivation in Davao City, which produces world-class bananas for export to Asia, Middle East , Canada and New Zealand .

“To sustain good production, chemical fungicide has been identified as the only solution to control Black Sigatoka so that we can meet the quality required in banana export. It is applied to protect the young banana leaf which sprouts every week. Six to seven healthy leaves are needed during the mature stage at harvest, to attain the export standard quality. World Health Organization (WHO) has classified most fungicides under Category IV based on hazard and toxicity. They are mildly toxic pesticides and biodegradable,” FPA said.

The FPA said it has allowed the use of fungicides for aerial spraying that have passed the evaluation as to their toxicology, specifications like product composition, physical and chemical properties, bioefficacy, environmental fate, ecotox profile, and use pattern.

Specifically, the groups of fungicides used in sigatoka control are the following: Dithiocarbamates like mancozeb, propineb; Chloronitriles like chlorothalonil; Strobilurins-azoxystrobin, trifloxystrobin; Triazoles-propiconazole, tebuconazole, bitertanol, hexaconazole and epoxiconazole; Amines- tridemorph and spiroxamine, and; Anilopyrimidines like anilopyrimidine.

Only mancozeb and chlorothalonil are generally used in banana plantations in Mindanao.

FPA says it has complied with internationally recognized, comprehensive pesticide risk assessment procedures adopted by recognized authorities, such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission, US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), and European Union (EU), among others, based on international standards for allowable levels of pesticides as recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

For bananas, aerial spraying is allowed, with 30 liters of solution used per hectare, which are applied using the GPS guidance system or flag lines. It is used in all major banana exporting countries. (Marvyn Benaning)