The Sta. Maria Mango Growers, Handlers, and Farmers Association Inc, is one of the beneficiaries of the Research4Extension Program of the PSU Sta. Maria Campus. The members of the association are mango growers who suffered heavy losses in their mango farms because of the destructive Cecidfly.
Cecidfly (Procontarinia frugivora) is a Dipteran or a relative of Mosquito and housefly but is very small and almost invisible to the naked eye. You can only see the damage after the larva has already emerged from the fruit skin. The adult female Cecidfly will start laying its egg into the fruit surface as early as 32 days after flowering induction or when the fruits are still mungbean-size. At this stage, the fruit size is not yet suitable for bagging. Fruit bagging with magazine or newspaper is recommended to minimize infestation however it is not recommended during the early stage of fruit development when fruits are still small and fruit drop incidence is very high.
Due to Cecidfly damage on fruits, there is high incidence of fruit drops, high rejects, and very low farmgate price of produce. Hence, the PSU Sta. Maria Campus experts headed by Mrs. Grace C. Cobardo (Agribusiness Management Assistant Professor), Mr. Rheyste Nicolas (the wine production specialist), and Dr. Oliver C. Caasi (Fermentation expert and Mycologist) introduced the Mango Wine Production Technology to mango growers of Sta. Maria. The first product of the organization is the Tres Pares Mango Wine named after the three farmer-couples who started this venture.
Today, the group is already marketing their product to local buyers, friends, and relatives. The next goal of the project is to train them on financial marketing and organization management which will be spearheaded by the ABM Department. They also undergo training on good manufacturing practices or GMP, HACCP, FDA regulation, and other product standards. This will be spearheaded by the BS TLEd Dept. Mr. Onofre B. Batalla, the association president, is very thankful for the livelihood opportunity provided by PSU through the technical and marketing assistance and start-up capital. –OCC
