Project Technical Report:" Implementation of the IPM program using weaver ants as a major component for cashew growers in Vietnam- MS5 " pdf

Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development Project Progress Report 029/05VIE Implementation of the IPM program using weaver ants as a major component for cashew growers in Vietnam MS

Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development

Project Progress Report

029/05VIE Implementation of the IPM program using weaver ants as

a major component for cashew growers in Vietnam

MS5: THIRD SIX-MONTHLY REPORT

Renkang Peng, Keith Christian and La Pham Lan

7 September 2007

6 Report on Cross-Cutting Issues _ 9

6.1 Environment _ 9 6.2 Gender and Social Issues _ 9

7 Implementation & Sustainability Issues 9

7.1 Issues and Constraints 9 7.2 Options 9 7.3 Sustainability 10

8 Next Critical Steps 10

9 Conclusion 10

10 Statuatory Declaration _ 10

11 Tables and appendix _13

1 Institute Information

ants as a major component for cashew growers in Vietnam

Vietnamese Institution Institute of Agricultural Science of South VietnamVietnamese Project Team Leader Mr La Pham Lan

Australian Organisation Charles Darwin University

Australian Personnel Prof Keith Christian and Dr Renkang Peng

Completion date (original) January 2009

Completion date (revised)

Contact Officer(s)

In Australia: Team Leader

Organisation Charles Darwin

University

Email: keith.christian@cdu.edu.au

In Australia: Administrative contact

Organisation Charles Darwin University Email: jenny.carter@cdu.edu.au

In Vietnam

Position: Head of Plant Protection

Department

Organisation Institute of Agricultural

Science of South Vietnam

2 Project Abstract

Cashew is a very important crop in Vietnam, and the government has designated cashew development as a national priority Productivity of cashew has increased since 2002, but the extensive use of pesticides has caused health problems to farmers, their animals and the environment The cashew IPM program using weaver ants as a key component developed at Charles Darwin University (CDU) does not use toxic insecticides, but results in high yield This project is to use the CDU cashew IPM to develop and implement a cashew IPM program that will work under Vietnamese conditions The proposed activities of the third 6 months of the project have been achieved The first year TOT training at two training centres has been successfully completed The second year TOT training at the two training centres started in August 2007 A total of 56 trainees from 9 main cashew-growing provinces have participated

in the second TOT training Two demonstration orchards have been running well A FFS training program has been composed, and FFS training will be conducted from September

2007 The draft of the cashew IPM curriculum will be completed in December Selection of photos and graphs for the cashew IPM posters is in progress

3 Executive Summary

The proposed activities for the third 6 months of the project have been achieved

The first year TOT training was successfully completed in May 2007 The

final training of the first year TOT training took place in May 2007 at both Dong Nai

and Binh Phuoc training centres At the end of this training, we conducted an

examination with 15 practical questions covering all training aspects and a class

survey with questionnaires All trainees correctly answered the 15 practical questions

The class survey showed that the trainees, in general, were satisfied with all the

courses and practicals we delivered, especially the 5 highest ranking courses In terms

of the confidence in using cashew IPM methods, 54% of the trainees chose

‘confident’ and 46% chose ‘good’ For the confidence in opening FFSs, 8% of them

chose ‘very confident’, 54% chose ‘confident’ and 38% chose ‘good’

The second year TOT training started in August 2007 We have selected 56

IPM trainers from 9 cashew-growing provinces Based on our first year TOT training

experience and the comments and suggestions from the first year TOT graduates, we

have modified our training courses and training days for each course for the second

year TOT training The first period of the second year TOT training was conducted

from 20 to 26 August 2007 in Dong Nai training centre and from 23 to 29 August

2007 in Binh Phuoc training centre Under the supervision of TOT master trainers, the

trainees were fully convinced by the field observations and field data collected by

themselves in the demonstration orchard or in field surveys that weaver ants were

effective in controlling the major cashew pests This has built up trainees’ interest in

the cashew IPM training, and the trainees were also satisfied with our training

methods

In general, two demonstration orchards have been running well The results

from last cashew season at Binh Phuoc site showed that the numbers of leaf and

flower shoots were more in IPM plot than in farmer’s plot The flushing shoots

damaged by each of the four main insect pests were similar to Farmer’s plot The nuts

in IPM plot were cleaner and shiner than those in farmer’s plot This suggests that

weaver ants are either better or similar to insecticide control The data analyses for Dong Nai demonstration orchard are in progress Although there was a hiccup with the demonstration orchard at Dong Nai province in July 2007, we have been offered another orchard owned by the same farmer to conduct our experiments for the TOT training We have used the same field design for this orchard as we had for the

previous one Weaver ant colonies will be transplanted into the orchard in October

2007

FFS training will be started in September 2007 After completing the first year TOT training, with strong support from provincial sub-PPDs, the TOT graduates have been busy selecting cashew growers from all stakeholder groups in their local region

to participate in FFSs, and to prepare teaching materials A FFS training program has been composed based on the extensive experience and discussion between TOT master trainers and TOT graduates

The development of the cashew IPM curriculum and posters is progressing smoothly During this reporting period, the IPM curriculum development has

concentrated on the data collection from regular monitoring of the demonstration orchards A total of 33 photos have been obtained for the preparation of cashew IPM posters The drafts of the curriculum and the posters will be ready for comments and suggestions in December 2007

The training report of the first period of the second year TOT training is attached as Appendix 2

4 Introduction & Background

The aims of this project are to increase cashew yield and improve nut quality by using weaver ants and by using no toxic insecticides Specific objectives are (1) to conduct TOT training in cashew IPM for TOT trainers to conduct FFSs in their local region, (2) to develop an IPM cashew curriculum and a series of illustrative posters that will work in Vietnamese conditions based on the cashew IPM programs developed in Australia and (3) to assess the effectiveness of the FFS model in increasing farmer knowledge and reducing pesticide use in cashew production

The project expects to result in 120 TOT cashew IPM trainers from eight major cashew growing provinces and 3750 cashew farmers educated in cashew FFSs A practical guide for cashew IPM and a series of illustrative posters will be developed The effectiveness of FFS in enhancing farmer knowledge in cashew cultivation will

be assessed

The project will concentrate on (1) the use of the farmer participatory training and research program, involving TOT and FFSs and (2) the development of a cashew IPM curriculum and illustrative posters based on field monitoring, observations and

experiments by field experimentalists, TOT trainees and FFS participants

The implementation methods include establishment of demonstration orchards for TOT courses, the TOT and FFS training, the development of a cashew IPM

curriculum and IPM posters, and the community baseline surveys A total of 6 major cashew-growing provinces, which have 300,700 ha of cashew, accounting for 86% of the total cashew areas in Vietnam will be targeted

5 Progress to Date

Based on our logframe, this report will cover activities I (Conduct TOT courses in cashew IPM), II (TOT trainers conducting FFS in their local region), III

(Development of cashew IPM curriculum) and IV (Development of illustrative

cashew IPM posters) of our project proposal The following is the progress against each of the proposed activities

5.1 Implementation Highlights (Activity 1)

Activity I has three aspects: (i) Identification of regions within each of the 6

participating provinces to be targeted for the program, (ii) Selection of IPM trainers from each targeted region to undertake TOT training in cashew IPM, and (iii) TOT training in cashew IPM

I (i) Identification of regions within each of the 6 participating provinces to be targeted for the program

A total of 30 cashew-growing regions, each of which consists of several villages, from 8 main cashew growing provinces (two more provinces than we initially

proposed) for the FFS training have been identified The detailed information is given

in our first 6-monthly report

I (ii) Selection of IPM trainers from each targeted region to undertake TOT training in cashew IPM

For the first year TOT training, we selected 56 IPM trainers from 8 sub-PPDs (see our first 6-monthly report for detail) For the second year TOT training, we have selected

56 IPM trainers from 9 cashew-growing provinces to undertake TOT training in cashew IPM (Table 1) Due to strong requests from sub-PPDs of Tra Vinh and Tay Ninh provinces, we have selected some IPM trainers from these two provinces for this cashew IPM training

I (iii) TOT training in cashew IPM

During this reporting period from February 2007 to August 2007, we conducted the final training of the first year TOT training and the first period training of the second year TOT training as planned

The final training of the first year TOT training took place in May 2007 at both Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc training centres This training occurred during the period of late cashew harvest season, and so, the training concentrated on cashew harvest, the use of weaver ants in farmer’s orchards, summarisation of the IPM methods for different cashew growing periods, communication skills and activation methods in class The courses we delivered are tabulated in Table 2 The TOT Trainees were interested in the courses and practicals At the end of this training, to examine the TOT trainee’s knowledge in cashew IPM and to get their feedback for the courses and the practicals

we delivered, we conducted an examination with 15 practical questions covering all training aspects and a class survey with questionnaires about 15 courses and the confidence of trainees in using cashew IPM methods and in opening FFSs All

trainees correctly answered the 15 practical questions In the class survey, we set up 5 rank scales (1 = very satisfactory, 2 = satisfactory, 3 = good, 4 = unsatisfactory and 5

= very unsatisfactory) for each category of each course (Appendix 1) The results showed that the trainees ranked all the courses ‘satisfactory’ or ‘good’, especially the

5 highest ranking courses These courses are ‘Natural enemies and their

conservation’, ‘The effect of weaver ants on the main cashew insect pests’, ‘The biology of weaver ants’, ‘The IPM principles’, and ‘Skills of communication and activation in class’ (Appendix 1) None of the courses are ranked at 4 ‘unsatisfactory’

or 5 ‘very unsatisfactory’ In terms of the confidence in using cashew IPM methods, 54% of the trainees chose 2 ‘confident’ and 46% chose 3 ‘good’ For the confidence

in opening FFSs, 8% of them chose 1 ‘very confident’, 54% chose 2 ‘confident’ and 38% chose 3 ‘good’ In addition to these, we have received some important comments and suggestions from the TOT trainees, and these include

(1) more practice is needed for each course,

(2) some topics overlap between courses,

(3) more time is needed for the course of communication skills, and

(4) the effect of pesticides on human health and the environment should be given

in the course of ‘The use of pesticides’

In conclusion, although two training periods were delayed due to the brown

leafhopper outbreak in rice field (see our second 6-monthly report for the reason), our first year TOT training is successful

Based on our first year TOT training experience and the comments and suggestions from the first year TOT trainees, we have modified our training courses and training days for each course for the second year TOT training (Table 3) The first period of the second year TOT training was conducted from 20 to 26 August 2007 in the Dong Nai training centre and from 23 to 29 August 2007 in the Binh Phuoc training centre This training concentrated on three aspects: the main cashew insect pests and their natural enemies by emphasizing the role of weaver ants in cashew orchards,

integrated pest management principles and general cashew cultivation including the use of fertilizers and pesticides (Table 4, also see Appendix 2 for the training report) The trainees were fully convinced by the field observations and field data collected by themselves in the demonstration orchard, showing that weaver ants were very

effective in controlling the major cashew pests of shoot borers and coreid bugs (the major pests at this time of year) Course teachers demonstrated the results based on the regular monitoring data in the Binh Phuoc demonstration orchard over the last cropping season, showing that the weaver ant plot achieved better or similar results to the insecticide plot (farmer’s plot) in terms of the number of foliar and floral flushing shoots and the flushing shoots damaged by the tea mosquito bug, the shoot borer, the fruit borer and the aphid These results, plus their own observations, have built up trainees’ interest in the cashew IPM training Trainees were also interested in the courses related to IPM principles and general cashew cultivation They were satisfied with our training methods as well

Management of demonstration orchards

In general, two demonstration orchards have been running well After weaver ant colonies were transplanted in late November 2006 in the Binh Phuoc demonstration orchard, regular monitoring on the abundance of weaver ants and the main insect pests between the IPM plot and the farmer’s plot has been progressing smoothly The

results from last cashew season were interesting, and are shown in Table 5 It shows that the numbers of leaf and flower shoots are more in IPM plot than in farmer’s plot The % flushing shoots damaged by each of the four main insect pests (shoot borers, tea mosquito bugs, aphids and leaf miners) are lower in the IPM plot, but statistically there are no differences between the IPM plot and the Farmer’s plot (Table 5) In addition to this, the farmer said that the nuts in IPM plot were cleaner and shiner than those in his plot This suggests that weaver ants are either better or similar to

insecticide control in terms of overall tree performance and the main insect pest damage

In Dong Nai demonstration orchard, weaver ant colonies were transplanted into the IPM plot in early December 2006 Regular monitoring on the main insect pests between the IPM plot and the farmer’s plot and the abundance of weaver ants progressed smoothly over the last cashew season (from October 2006 to July 2007), and the data analyses are in progress However, after the first year contract was due in mid July 2007, the farmer turned a part of the IPM plot into an animal bone

processing mill without notifying us This caused a lot of problems to the IPM plot, and the regular monitoring was forced to stop After extensive negotiation with the farmer, he has allowed us to use another orchard (1.5 ha) of his as our demonstration orchard We have made a two-year contract with him this time The experimental trees have been pruned and fertilized properly Weaver ant colonies will be

transplanted into the IPM plot in October, and then a regular monitoring program will start

5.1 Implementation Highlights (Activity II)

The activity II is for the first year TOT graduates to conduct FFS in their local region During the final period of the first year TOT training, a FFS training program was made based on the extensive experience and discussion between TOT master trainers and TOT trainees This program consists of 4 parts (Appendix 3) Part 1 is how to select and manage a demonstration orchard, part 2 is the frequency of FFS training, part 3 is the training topics during each cashew developmental period, and part 4 is to provide detailed information about each training topic (Appendix 3) After completing the first year TOT training, with strong support from provincial sub-PPDs, the TOT graduates have been busy selecting cashew growers from all stakeholder groups in their local region to participate in FFS, and to prepare teaching materials Based on the information from sub-PPDs, FFSs will be started in September 2007 The progress

of the FFS activity will be reported in our next 6-monthly report

5.1 Implementation Highlights (Activity III)

The activity III is the progress of the IPM curriculum development The development

of cashew IPM curriculum is progressing smoothly It has mainly concentrated on the data collection from regular monitoring of the IPM plots and farmer’s plots during the period of monsoon flush (III (i)), pre-flowering and fruiting flush (III (ii)) and cashew harvest (III (iii)) The results from the data collected at Binh Phuoc demonstration orchard during the flowering and fruiting periods of the last cropping season are shown in Table 5 These results will be included in the cashew IPM curriculum The data analyses for the Dong Nai demonstration orchard are still in progress

In addition to this, we have also collected some more data from field observations and laboratory rearing for the following chapters of the cashew IPM curriculum during the period of cashew pre-flowering and flowering flush:

- The main cashew insect pests and diseases, and

- Common natural enemies

5.1 Implementation Highlights (Activity IV)

Activity IV is the development of cashew IPM posters Photos, diagrams and graphs from field surveys, monitoring, observations and experiments conducted in

demonstration orchards have been reported for the cashew monsoon flush (IV(i)) (see our first 6-monthly report) and for the cashew pre-flowering and flowering flush (IV (ii)) (see our second 6-monthly report)

During this reporting period (February – August 2007), which was the period of cashew harvest and post harvest flush (IV (iii)), a total of 33 photos have been

obtained for the preparation of cashew IPM posters; 19 of insect pests and their

damage, 9 of natural enemies, 3 of mutual relationship between weaver ants and aphids and 2 of weaver ants preying on insect pests A detailed selection of the photos for the posters is in progress

5.2 Smallholder Benefits

Based on our baseline survey, the expected benefits for smallholder from this project have been described in our first 6-monthly report Compared to his plot, the owner of Binh Phuoc demonstration orchard is happy with the results from the IPM plot

because of better quality of nuts and no insecticide spray We believe that when FFSs start in September 2007, more smallholder benefits from this project will gradually emerge

5.3 Capacity Building

Dr Peng went to Vietnam in August 2007 to open the second year TOT training, to deliver two courses ‘Cashew insect pests and their natural enemies’ and ‘The effect of weaver ants on the main cashew insect pests’ for the TOT trainees and to inspect the general management of the transferred weaver ant colonies in demonstration orchards The results showed that Dr Peng’s courses have already attracted the TOT trainees’ interest in using weaver ants to control the main cashew pests For keeping weaver ant population stable, Dr Peng demonstrated the techniques for IAS staff to check weaver ant colony boundaries and how to feed the ants when cashew trees are dormant Now, IAS project staff have obtained a complete overview of the ant technology including orchard preparation, controlling of competitive species of ants, identification of weaver ant colonies, transplantation of the ants into cashew orchards, and

management and maintenance of the weaver ant colonies Under the supervision of Dr Peng, they have also gained extensive experience in the assessment of weaver ant abundance In his last two visits to Vietnam, with the contribution from Mr Chien, Dr Peng has worked out a control strategy (weaver ants, pruning and light-trapping) to manage the branch borer that has been one of the major concerns by all cashew

growers in Vietnam He has already passed this knowledge to IAS project staff

reporting requirements with input from Vietnamese personnel as required Dr Peng has been monitoring all the activities of the project, and he is also responsible for checking the progress of the IPM program implementation, for the part of the TOT

training and for the field data analyses

6 Report on Cross-Cutting Issues

6.1 Environment

According to our baseline survey, the use of pesticides has already caused a negative effect on cashew farmers’ health, farm animals and the environment, as reported in our first 6-monthly report Significant improvement of the environment and farmers’ health will be achieved by implementing this cashew IPM program For example, after we transplanted weaver ant colonies into our demonstration orchards in

November 2006, we did not use any pesticides during the period of cashew flowering and fruiting The orchard owners told us that cashew nuts produced in the IPM plot were shiny and cleaner than the nuts produced in their own managed plot They believe that the cashew IPM program will certainly improve their health and the farming environment

6.2 Gender and Social Issues

According to our baseline survey, women already play a very important part in

cashew production About 40% of labour was provided by women in orchard

management, including weeding, pruning, fertilizing, spraying, harvesting, etc Because the weaver ant technology is not physically strenuous, and it does not involve toxic insecticide spray, its adoption could further promote women’s participation in smallholder’s cashew production

7 Implementation & Sustainability Issues

7.1 Issues and Constraints

Since Mr Lan becomes the Project Leader, the communication between CDU project staff and Vietnamese project personnel has been improving

7.2 Options

Not applicable for this report

7.3 Sustainability

Sustainability of cashew production in Vietnam is the focus of this project All the objectives, approaches, implementation methods and the training program are linked with this issue During the first year TOT training and the first training period of the second year TOT training, with the results from their own field surveys and from the demonstration orchards, we have already satisfied the TOT trainees that using weaver ants as a major component to manage cashew insect pests is effective This is a

significant step forward towards cashew production sustainability in the future

8 Next Critical Steps

The following are our next critical activities for the next six-month period:

1 Manage the demonstration orchards,

2 Continue the second year TOT training,

3 Conduct FFS training in eight cashew growing provinces by the first year TOT graduates,

4 Complete the draft of the cashew IPM curriculum, and

5 Complete the draft of the cashew IPM posters

9 Conclusion

The proposed activities for the third 6 months of the project have been achieved

The first year TOT training was successfully completed in May 2007 The final training of the first year TOT training took place in May 2007 at both Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc training centres At the end of this training, we conducted an

examination with 15 practical questions covering all training aspects and a class survey with questionnaires All trainees correctly answered the 15 practical questions The class survey showed that the trainees, in general, were satisfactory with all the courses we delivered, especially the 5 highest ranking courses They are all able to use cashew IPM methods appropriately, and they have confidence in opening FFS

The second year TOT training started in August 2007 We have selected 56 IPM trainers from 9 cashew-growing provinces Based on our first year TOT training experience and the comments and suggestions from the first year TOT graduates, we have modified our training courses and training days for each course for the second year TOT training The first period of the second year TOT training was conducted from 20 to 26 August 2007 in Dong Nai training centre and from 23 to 29 August

2007 in Binh Phuoc training centre Under the supervision of TOT master trainers, the trainees were fully convinced by the field observations and field data collected by themselves in the demonstration orchard or in field surveys that weaver ants were effective in controlling the major cashew pests This has built up trainees’ interest in the cashew IPM training, and the trainees were also satisfied with our training

methods

In general, two demonstration orchards have been running well The results from last cashew season at Binh Phuoc site suggest that weaver ants are either better

or similar to insecticide control The data analyses for Dong Nai demonstration

orchard are in progress

FFS training will be started in September 2007 After the first year TOT trainees graduated, with strong support from provincial sub-PPDs, they have been busy selecting cashew growers from all stakeholder groups in their local region to participate in FFS, and to prepare teaching materials A FFS training program has been composed based on the extensive experience and discussion between TOT master trainers and TOT graduates

The development of the cashew IPM curriculum and posters is progressing smoothly During this reporting period, the IPM curriculum development has

concentrated on the data collection from the regular monitoring of the demonstration orchards A total of 33 photos have been obtained for the preparation of cashew IPM posters The drafts of the curriculum and the posters will be ready for comments and suggestions in December 2007

A training report for the first period of the second year TOT training is

attached as Appendix 2