JIS photos
LEFT: A hibiscus plant badly affected by the pink mealy bug.
RIGHT: An officer from the Bodles Agricultural Station releases parasitoid wasps for the elimination of the pink hibiscus mealy bug.

Aston G. Bailey, JIS Writer

It's cradled against vegetation robustly fresh and green, and continues to appeal to thousands of visitors all year round.

The quaint parish of Portland with its rich history, displayed at every turn, has always been a famous tourist destination. Even at times when persistent drought conditions detract from the captivating greenery, there is still something about the place that draws people in.

In recent months however, Portland's vegetation has been under serious threat from the presence of the pink hibiscus mealy bug, which was first detected in June of last year in the community of Commodore in the eastern section of the parish, and unfortunately, has since spread to other communities.

Before it was discovered in Portland, the pest had wreaked havoc on agricultural production in Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago, where millions of dollars were lost because of the destruction it caused to the various crops.

However, swift and effective measures taken by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) have proven to be very successful in the struggle to control and prevent the spread of the pest.

RADA and the ministry have implemented a management programme aimed at containing and reducing the population of the bug below an economic threshold.

According to Dr Lisa Myers, chief plant protection officer in the Plant Protection Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, the implementation of the programme was unavoidable if Jamaica was to escape devastation to its agricultural sector.

Under the programme, a bio-logical control strategy is being employed through which parasitoid wasps and lady bird beetles are being distributed in the infested areas to destroy the pink mealy bug.

Both the parasitoid wasps and lady bird beetles are natural enemies of the pink mealy bug and are considered ideal weapons to be used for its elimination.

Effectiveness

In addition, a public education drive was embarked on to sensitise Portlanders about the importance of cooperating with the measures being implemented to control its spread.

Wasps are supplied from Puerto Rico free of costs by the United States Department of Agriculture, while the lady bird beetles are procured from Trinidad and Tobago.

The distribution of the wasps began when the pests were discovered last year, while the use of the lady bird beetle commenced in November.

So far, a total of 60,000 wasps and 140 beetles have been distributed. It is still too early to determine the effectiveness of the latter, but to date the wasps seem to be the perfect antidote to the pink mealy bug.

Research conducted by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) has not only revealed that significant improvements have taken place with the affected plants, but also that there is a great reduction in the presence of the bug in those areas.

RADA's parish manager for Portland Crawford Clarke has described the work of the wasps as marvellous, noting that their presence were observed even in areas where they were not distributed.

"Since the distribution process began, the population of the wasps has multiplied to the extent where they are now domiciled in communities outside of the infested areas," he said. Describing this as a very positive development in the campaign to eliminate the pest, Clarke said this reality will go a far way to ensuring that healthy plants remain unaffected by the pink mealy bug.

Infestation

Dr Myers fully supports this view. She said the spreading of the wasps population has resulted in a significant decrease in the incidents of infestation, and will bring about the containment of the spread of the bug.

According to Clarke, it is too early for the effectiveness of the lady bird beetle to become evident, but he was fully confident that it would be just as successful in preventing the spread of the bug.

But have the residents in the infested communities noticed the improvements that have been observed by the officials?

Sandra Evans, a resident of Anchovy Housing Scheme in Port Antonio, whose hibiscus plants were badly affected, told JIS that she has been seeing significant changes since the wasps distribution programme began.

"Not only are the leaves looking much better recently, but the plants appear to be in much more robust condition," she shared with obvious relief.

Expressing a similar view, Wayne Brown of the Fair Prospect community in Eastern Portland said the recovery of the infested plants in his community has been very satisfying, and expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Agriculture and RADA for their efforts.

Danger reduced

Because of the effectiveness of the biological control programme so far, both the Ministry of Agriculture and RADA are confident that the dangers posed to agriculture as a result of the presence of the pink mealy bug, has been significantly reduced.

This reported success will, however, not allow for complacency. The programme will continue until the pest is totally eliminated from the infested communities.

Fully committed to this process, Clarke is giving the assurance that the distribution of the wasps and the lady bird beetles will continue for as long as it takes to ensure that no further threat to agricultural production in Portland exists.

And so the story of Portland continues to be written. This challenge is only one of many that has failed to erase the luscious beauty of this place.

This is a special Gleaner feature in collaboration with the Jamaica Information Service.