Tobacco Dust Good for Aquaculture
18 January 2012PHILIPPINES - The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) Chief, Edgardo D. Zaragoza, said research undertaken by the agency showed that tobacco dust battles not only head lice but also decimates snails that inhabit fishponds and fish cages.
ManilaBulletin reports that as a molluscicide, Mr Zaragoza said, tobacco dust acts swiftly to protect milkfish and its eggs from predatory snails and other creatures that exist in ponds and fish pens.
Its efficacy has been proven by studies conducted by a team from the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) in Tigbauan, Iloilo under Dr Joebert D. Toledo, the NTA chief added.
In Ilocos Sur, tobacco dust has been used as a pesticide in vegetable farms, with growers reporting better yields and substantial reductions in their production costs.
To show that tobacco is really a boon for organic aquaculture, the NTA launched a programme to promote the use of tobacco dust in Sto. Tomas, La Union on 13 January, 2012.
Mr Zaragoza led a “show and tell” activity on how tobacco dust can address the degradation of fishponds due to highly toxic chemicals at a demonstration farm established in the town.
He unveiled Tobacco Dust Plus, a scientifically tested, standardized, pure tobacco dust formulation developed as molluscicide to control snails and other predators in fishponds.
Mr Zaragoza added that tobacco dust can serve as a fertiliser to promote the growth of “lablab,” a natural fish food, and as a soil conditioner.
“The product intends to replace the long-banned, highly toxic, cyanide-based, inorganic chemicals being used in the preparation or sterilization of fishponds before the stocking of fingerlings,” Mr Zaragoza said.
“Tobacco dust is organic, readily degradable, and environment-friendly. The absence of pesticide residues contributes to the marketability and exportability of local fish and ensures consumer safety, aside from being free from chemical residues,” he added.
Aside from Seafdec, the other institutions that assessed tobacco dust were the Iloilo School of Fisheries in Iloilo, the Philippine Council for Aquaculture and Marine Resources Research and Development and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Field testing in fishponds in Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur confirmed the validity of the scientific studies.
The studies showed that by following recommended production technologies demonstrated in the farm, there was a marked decrease in the mortality rate of fingerlings from 20 per cent to only five per cent, resulting in about P20,000 savings on production cost per hectare per grow-out cycle.
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