ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, March 30th, 2012 – The Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour and the Department of Agriculture will be hosting a one-day workshop titled, “Economic Pests of Importance to the Mango Sector”, in preparation for the upcoming Mango Array and Tropical Fruit Festival scheduled for July 13th.
The workshop is scheduled for Thursday, April 5, 2012 at the University of the West Indies, Paraquita Bay Campus from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Deputy Chief Agricultural Officer and event coordinator, Mrs. Arona Fahie-Forbes said, “We need to work together to protect our environment especially as it relates to sustainable agriculture development and it is of importance for us not to just have a Mango Array and Tropical Fruit Festival to be successful but it is also essential for the mango sector to be sustainable and in doing this we have to curtail the problems that are currently affecting this sector in the territory.”
Mrs. Forbes continued to explain that the importance of the workshop is to educate and advise the public and the agriculture producers on how to identify these pests classified as quarantine pests namely the Fruit Fly, Anthracnose and Mango Seed Weevil, and the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) which includes controlling, baiting, trapping, and the hazardous effects they may have on fruits.
The Department of Agriculture will engage in a series of methods to control the fruit flies throughout the territory placing traps on Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke through weekly monitoring and asks the public for their full cooperation when placing these traps at strategic points.
The Deputy Chief Agricultural Officer emphasizes that Fruit Flies, Anthracnose and Mango Seed Weevils are pests that damage our fruits and trapping and identification of these pests are necessary and must be done to ensure the fruit grows to maturity and reaches the market at quality free from blemishes and post harvest losses.
For registration or more information, persons are asked to contact the Department of Agriculture at 495-2110 or 468-3701 extensions 6123 or 6124.
Economic Pests of Importance to the Mango Sector Workshop, serves as a precursor to the Annual Mango Array and Tropical Fruit Festival. The workshop is the second one held in the territory for the year. The objective is to eventually teach crop producers and home gardeners correct trapping and identification of quarantine pests. The Department of Agriculture works to enhance the local agricultural industry through training opportunities to enhance crop production as they strengthen the sector.
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