REMINDER: 2 Confabs, Mango On Feb. 19-20; Bougainvillea Feb. 21, 2020
zbsarian
Two important conventions will be held next week one after the other at the Conference Hall of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) in Quezon City. One is the First Luzon Mango Stakeholders Summit on February 19-20 that will address, among others, the worsening menace of Kurikong caused by the Cecid fly.
The other is an international gathering of bougainvillea experts and enthusiasts who have discovered the potentials of bougainvilleas as an income generator for micro as well as medium agripreneurs in the sector of ornamental horticulture. The conference will be held on February 21 at the BWSM conference hall.
The Luzon mango Summitย is prompted largely by the deadly Cecid fly hat causes ugly black depressed spots on the skin of mango fruits. The menace has now spread in a big way as far north as Ilocos Norte, according to Ricardo Tolentino, the biggest player in the mango industry in Luzon, if not in the whole country. He is based in Laoag City but he is also managing mango farms as far as the Cagayan Valley.
BOUGAINVILLEA CONFERENCE – The one day conference on Feb. 21 will be a highlight of the 12-day Bougainvillea Extravaganza at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City. The event is under the auspices of Baby Spowartโs Chat Group focussed on nothing but bougainvillea. Her Facebook friends number more than 72,000 strong from different countries around the tropical world.
Spowart said that three foreign members of her Chat Group will be giving lectures during the conference. One of them is Mr. Gu Da, the most prolific bougainvillea hybridizer in the world with hundreds of thousands of hybrids to his name. He will demonstrate how to hybridize bougainvilleas. He is from Taiwan.
Another is Purutsottam Bapat, a bougainvillea expert, will talk on bougainvilleas in India. On the other hand, Michael Ferrero will talk on bougainvilleas in Australia, past and present.
From the Philippines, Vic Chin will talk on trace elements for bougainvilleas. Nyong Lazo will talk on grafting and creating new forms like topiaries and trees. Spowart, on the other hand, will reveal her secrets in inducing flowering in bougainvilleas.
