Releasing 285 million parasitic wasps into the environment to protect Ben Tre coconut gardens

Recently, Ben Tre's agricultural sector has bred and released more than 285 million parasitic bees into the environment to protect coconut gardens - Photo: MAU TRUONG

On March 29, Mr. Huynh Quang Duc - Deputy Director of Ben Tre Department of Agriculture and Environment - said that currently, the control of black-headed caterpillar is progressing very well, based on the foundation of control by biological methods.

"Specifically, from the beginning of 2024 until now, we have released over 285 million parasitic wasps to destroy black-headed caterpillars and these bees have been very effective. After being released into the environment, when encountering black-headed caterpillar larvae, the bees will inject a paralyzing toxin, then lay eggs on the caterpillar's body. After 15 days, each parasitized black-headed caterpillar will hatch 10-50 young wasps. On average, a female wasp lives more than 20 days and lays about 100 eggs.

The special feature of this biological method is that after being released into the natural environment, parasitic wasps will parasitize black-headed caterpillars and attack them in both the pupal and larval stages to prevent the spread of this coconut pest," said Mr. Duc.

According to statistics, currently, about 609 hectares of coconut trees attacked by black-headed caterpillars have been completely recovered. In particular, in the two districts with large and severe black-headed caterpillar-infected areas, Mo Cay Nam and Thanh Phu districts, the pests are showing signs of slowing down and the coconut trees are recovering well.

The Ben Tre Department of Agriculture also recommends that when detecting symptoms of black-headed caterpillar damage in coconut gardens, individuals and organizations need to notify local authorities and specialized agencies for timely handling.

To effectively control black-headed caterpillars, it is necessary to correctly assess the level of infection to choose appropriate measures according to the following steps. If the rate of mild infection in the coconut garden is less than 20%, step one is to prune and destroy infected leaves/plants; step two is to release parasitic wasps repeatedly and monitor until there are no new symptoms of damage.

Absolutely do not use chemicals indiscriminately because it can harm parasitic wasps, which are natural enemies of black-headed caterpillars.

Ben Tre province has about 50% of the coconut area in the country, with about 79,000 hectares. About 5 years ago, black-headed caterpillars began to appear in Ben Tre province, then spread throughout the area and damaged more than 1,000 hectares of coconuts.

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MAU TRUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tha-285-trieu-con-ong-ky-sinh-ra-moi-truong-de-bao-ve-vuon-dua-ben-tre-2025032912195745.htm