Case 8- Digos City, Philippines, 2023

Digos City is known for its sweet-juicy carabao variety mango, sold locally and exported abroad, thus being dubbed as the Mango Capital City of the Philippines. However, it faces a significant threat from fruit flies, particularly the Bactrocera dorsalis species, causing substantial damage to mango crops each year. Local farmers report an average fruit damage rate of around 50% or higher in Digos due to fruit fly infestations.

Damaged mango by fruit fly(larva inside)

Ecoman has successfully implemented area-wide trials for fruit fly control using Great Fruit Fly Bait (GFFB) on two mango farms and a pomelo farm in the region. Initial feedback from the farmers indicates an exceptional level of satisfaction with the outcomes of the trials.

Before GFFB application, Ecoman team gave off-line training and technical support to the local spraying team. Besides, using Ecoman Mini Trap for fruit fly monitoring to know the fruit fly population dynamics in the orchard.

Encouraged by this success, Ecoman aims to expand these trials to other regions in 2024 to further address the fruit fly menace and support sustainable mango production across the Philippines.