Robroy

I checked the cassava up the road from me that had the wasp put on them about 3 weeks ago, i looked at the leaves which were still clusted from were the mealy bug was,when i broke it open small insects run out of it,they looked dark the same as the wasp i saw put on them weeks ago,the plant itself [stem and leaves] had grown 30/40% more, which between the rain and the wasp,the cassava had done well,where before it was stunted.

A very good point about the insecticides,someone will have to do a lot of weeding around here[by hand].

cat.

Thanks for that update. I see you are in Sikhi, Korat. If this is the same as SIKHIU (on my map), you are very close to the release site, which is at the Thai Tapioca Development Institute (TTDI) at Huay Bong. (The TTDI has led the breeding program.) You are very fortunately placed.

Yes, the wasp has a big effect. Typically you see fresh green tips and lots of growth, and long spaces between internodes.

If you look lower down the main stem you'll see the gnarling and deformation from the old mealybug infestation - & very short spaces between internodes (stunting typical of the mealybug).

Did the insect you see fly as well as walk/run? The wasp does both - but mostly flies.

Hmm, maybe she just popped into boyfriend number 2 apartment to 'charge' her battery Simon

I fear as such, yes.

Some Thai girls are honest, some are not.

There are ways to find out which your gf is - for example:

1. Check her phone messages when she's asleep.

2. If you ever get a suspect's name, get a second SIM for your phone & use that to send her a sweet message in that name. (See what comes back.)

And so on.

I never thought of doing anything like this before coming to Asia. Now it's routine.

This is the guy to keep an eye out for.

But he's smaller than the head of a match - not much bigger than a pinhead, though elongated. not round.

We phone our A. lopezi wasp agent (located at the government Sahagon, Mae Poen) from time to time to try to get our hands on some but no joy yet. Although we in Nakhon Sawan are affected by mealybugs, we have suffered much less than Isaan so I suspect we must wait longer until the wasps are released throughout Isaan first.

Rgds

Khonwan

Thanks Khonwan.

Would appreciate hearing when they are released.

If you are in the east of Nakhon Sawon they may simply reach you from Nakhon Ratchassima in the next few months. They were released in the mid-west of that province at the start of the year, & have wiped out the mealybug for miles around. They would be well on the way to you now.

Best,

Rob

Does anyone know how fast the wasps spread once they have been released?

Might give us a better idea on how long it will take to cover the whole country.

Sources in Korat tell me they have spread at least 30 km since their release about 8 months ago - but that's only a minimum (i.e. as far as my source looked): they may be miles beyond that.

According to which academic paper you read, the mealybug spreads at 100, 150, 300 or 'several hundred' km per year.

As for the wasp, I have read this data & now I cannot find it. In Africa it was something like a minimum of 20 km a month, to the best of my recollection. I'm pretty sure it's not less.

However when they reach you will depend on both this this factor and when/where the DoA release the batch nearest to you. They may have only (say) 30 km to travel to reach your field.

When that happens, BTW, I don't think anyone would mind if you went and caught a few & brought them to your field.

No.

Sorry, I've had a crash course in all this, which means I'm not familiar enough with the exact meanings of these terms. Basically, I'd forgotten that a plant can also be a pest.

Meaning that you're right: I should have said 'insecticide'.

Any information as to A. lopezi release in your area? (Anyone?)

I'm very interested in how far the DoA have disseminated it at this stage.

So all you cassava farmers, its not ants that carry the bug, so what else can it be??

And the rain seems to stop the infestation, now, i wonder, why is that? is it because rain on your chemically killed soil produces new weed shoots [until you spray herbicide again] and thats where the bugs will go? it seems in my mind that the bugs need fresh green shoots, and if your land is killed by cides, the cassava leaves are the only place to find them,

We dont grow cassava anymore, and i have banned cides on the 40rai farm, the fruit trees and banana plants are fed on organic stuff, and are doing well, no sign of bugs like before that decimated 9 rai of pappaya,

No, i am not preaching that you should give up cides ect, but perhaps you farmers with a lot of cassava rai could put aside perhaps 1/2 with no cides, see how it goes?

Ants tend to "herd" the mealybug sometimes, but they're not major carriers.

Mealybug moves (very slowly) under its own steam - from plant to plant, crop to crop.

Rain reduces the infestation simply by washing large mealybugs away. Only those that shelter down low & are small tend to survive the rainy season - but not that many.

However these survivors should begin breeding up around October, when the rains start to diminish. If the A. lopezi wasp hasn't been released in your area by then, one would expect a worse mealybug infestation than last year. In Africa mealybug destroyed about 80% of the crop across 30 countries, before A. lopezi was introduced to bring it under control.

The cassava mealybug lives chiefly on cassava, not much on weeds.

Pesticides will kill the A. lopezi wasp stone dead, which will allow the mealybug to increase. Pesticides are not a good idea anywhere near the wasp.

Hope that answers the questions.

I'd be most interested in who has seen/heard of the A lopezi wasp being released in your area.

(A. lopezi is the wasp that kills cassava mealybug.)

The DoA said they would release the wasp across Thailand's cassava areas by the end of the year.

Has the wasp been released near you yet? Kindly report if so.

(If you don't know, the local DoA will.)

I'm curious because I'm on the Cambodian side of the border, and the wasp will benefit us too - when they are released near the border.

Thanks a lot,

Rob

I have lived in Phnom Penh for 3 years, tho haven't yet got around to changing my profile here.

The brick attacks and general crime I describe are not taken from my own experience (other than where stated), but from a number of firsthand reports which you or anyone can read on EPA.

They are also taken from pretty much daily reports in The Phnom Penh Post, in which witnesses and victims are interviewed. These are also online for anyone to see.

If you choose to believe all this is manufactured or exaggerated, that's your choice of course.

I assume the last two posters are not native English speakers: much of what is being said is not understandable. Would be happy to address your points if you can get someone to put them into regular English.

Thanks.

I've had generally good experiences with dating sites.

I found a three-year girlfriend via ThaiLoveLinks, and we are still good friends.

It's hard to find the right person, but IMO it would be harder - & especially slower - dating the old way.

Just to clarify some factual issues;

The bricks thrown are (in the words of the victims, quoted in The Phnom Penh Post) "half-house-bricks".

I have not seen any reports of bricks being thrown at Khmers. Can you cite a reference please?

The attacks are described (by victims & witnesses) as being un-forewarned and unprovoked, rather than result of something that has "peed off" someone. Typically, the victim is standing at an ATM or exiting a restaurant.

I have no personal knowledge, but according to one Ex-Pat Advisory poster (EPA is a kind of Cambodian equivalent to Thaivisa), the "stones from slingshots" were part of a wave of earlier attacks (last year, from memory): they are not the current problem.

Armed robbery is a regular feature of life in Phnom Penh. This week there are numerous firsthand reports of armed robbery, knife attacks and hold-ups, by victims and witnesses, on the Ex-Pat Advisory forums. Such reports are also a daily event in the Phnom Penh newspapers.

Personally I have been close to a shoot-out on Riverside (the main tourist drag) at 7pm on a Sunday evening, and have seen two drunk Khmers aiming guns at each other's heads on the Riverside footpath, at 10am on a weekday. When I was in a hospital lobby last year, a man was admitted because a robber's bullet had just gone through his arm. (The gun had discharged accidentally, and the bullet had gone on to kill the robber's accomplice.) I've been woken by gunshots. I've lived in Phnom Penh for three years.

I live in PP & LC is my alltime favourite artist.

But I won't be going to this one. I can't imagine who would.

Perhaps a handful of Western millionaires will fly in...

In addition to Phnom Penh's frequent bag-snatchings, armed robberies and road accidents...

http://wikitravel.org/en/Phnom_Penh

...foreigners now have to worry about the recent wave of brick attacks (sic.)

Groups of Khmer men have recently taken to throwing bricks at foreigners' heads from moving SUVs along the Riverside area - the main tourist drag.

Several serious injuries have been reported amongst the eight attacks documented so far this year. (The real toll is probably higher than eight.)

No motive is known, and the incidents are unprovoked.

The unfolding stories have been documented in the Phnom Penh Post in recent weeks.

Police deny the attacks are taking place.

We were harassed by a dude with a whistle in a Chiang Mai parking lot. At one point after leaving our car he actually ran up to me & blew it in my face. I laughed, which made him mad.

Later I explained to my girlfriend that he had always wanted a whistle as a child, but his mama had cruelly denied him one. Many years of frustration had led to this.

She listened patiently, then said:

'I don't understand.'

Always (but always) get a Western-trained doctor - preferably a Western doctor.

I say the latter because I WENT to the ear, nose & throat specialist in Bumrungrad a couple of years ago (a Thai) - and he used some some extremely painful instrument to scrape the water out of my ears - the pain was intense. It was entirely unnecessary.

I described his methods to a real ENT specialist later (a Swede), who pronounced him a 'butcher'.

The wasps have been bred by the Thai Tapioca Development Institute in Huay Bong village about an hour northwest from Korat town. They are in the fields there, and have successfully cleaned up the mealybug.

With the recent formal release (see above link) responsibility for dispersing them has gone to the Department of Agriculture. They aim to cover isaan with them by the end of the year.

To discover when they will be coming to your area, you need to contact the DOA. The wasp is named A. lopezi.

Indians urged to give up spices.

Chinese urged to stop spitting.

English urged to stop queuing.

Australian urged to renounce the beach.

Americans urged to stop talking loudly in restaurants.

The Thai release of A. lopezi began over the weekend:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/world/asia/19thai.html?_r=2&hp

Just did a trip up to the Thai border on the Cambodian side.

There are 20,000 hectares under cassava in Banteay Meanchey province - which is opposite Aranyaprathet.

The cassava mealybug is in all four Banteay Meanchey districts on the border. The bug is moving south, & we expect it to be in Battambang province by the end of the rainy season. (Battambang is roughly opposite Wang Sombun & Khiong Hat on your side.)

However the large mealybugs have been washed away by the rain, leaving only pretty small ones right now, which do not appear to be doing much harm.

On both sides of the border, our crunch will come in about 3 months (Octoberish), when the rains are likely to ease off.

That will allow he mealybug to breed up again. In Africa in the 1980s mealybug wiped out 80% of the cassava in 30 countries, & my guess is that it will wipe out 80% of Thai & Cambodian cassava this year if not stopped. However that's a hunch - no-one really knows what will happen.

The Thai DOA & TTDI are doing an excellent job in breeding up the only known antidote - the wasp A. lopezi. They will hopefully get permission to release them soon. Permission has already been granted in Cambodia - we are now awaiting the Thai permission so we can get supplies.

How is the mealybug situation there now? Much damage? Or quiescent?

They should show this one on the plane over.

There is a bit of a scam mentality right throughout Thailand's feminine population. I don't mean that all Thai women will scam & steal - but there are an awful lot of non-bargirls who will.

And most bargirls will, needless to say.

But maximise your chances:

Firstly, what is someone who wants real love doing in Pattaya - the tomb of love & commitment, the ugliest place (on every level) in Thailand, if not God's Earth?

Secondly, avoid bargirls (as marital partners): If something happens to farangs on the plane, something happens to a girl after one day in a bar. The "grass is greener" syndrome takes root. No matter how nice or how committed the guy, part of them will always think, "The next one might be better". In a bar, some fundamental emotional rewiring takes place.

Thirdly, there are many good girls in Thailand. Usually they have reasonable jobs & stable families. Find one of those. But...

Fourth: Get smart & do some checking. Check her InBox while she's asleep; send her texts from an 'admirer' on a separate SIM & see if she responds; ask someone to follow her to work or on that visit to see her sister - & see where she really goes. Develop a phoney IM/Skype/dating website account, & make overtures to her. This is not the kind of thing that ever crossed my mind in the West. I have learned to do it in SE Asia & have got results on several occasions.

Would be interested to know how cassava growers are going with the mealybugs. Rain knocking them off, or still causing trouble?

Also I'd be interested in whether you are getting enough rain - i.e. something like the average for June.

Kindly specify province so I can look you up.

"Yongyut Buasod, the Siam Seacanoe guide responsible for Ms Darwell’s tour..."

One more Phuket tour company to avoid.

I lived in Ao Nang for 6 months about 3 years ago (to escape Chiang Mai's smoke pollution).

Ao Nang & Krabi in general are lovely, if a little more expensive than Chiang Mai. Great beaches, & some pleasant greenery.

However I found that there was no-one to talk to there. The only foreigners seemed to be divers & real estate developers. In the end I got really lonely, & went to live elsewhere.

If you are bringing a family, however, maybe you are bringing your company & stimulation with you. (Indeed maybe you like talking to divers & real estate developers.) So it may be different for you.

This could be the start of something good for the whole of Thailand, Provided he is allowed to continue unhindered by certain parties.

I agree that 'certain parties' (presumably Thaksin & the more violent elements of the reds) should never again be allowed to participate in shaping Thailand.

However the reds' grievances are real: Thailand is vastly unequal, with an hereditary elite sequestering most of the resources to itself.

Those grievances need to be addressed in very concrete ways if disaster is to be headed off.

Now Thaksin is getting a small taste of the fate he visited on others: human rights lawyers who disappeared forever, "drug dealers" who received a bullet in the back of the head in the middle of the night, and Muslim protestors in the south jammed into trucks and suffocated.

Yes, the main was appalling, and must never be allowed to involve himself in Thai politics again.

But the grievances on which he rode to power are real.

And until The Nation & the Thai elite in general give some ground on this - and make Thailand a fairer place - there will always be a revolt brewing, and demogogues prepared to take political advantage of it.