BACOLOD CITY, June 15 -- The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has intensified efforts to prevent further spread of red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation in Negros Occidental, where sugarcane fields in at least 150 villages have already been affected as of Monday.

In an interview, SRA Board farmers' representative David Andrew Sanson said they have purchased insecticides for drone application initially in some areas in Isabela and La Castellana towns in central Negros.

"We're continuing the operation in all affected areas in Negros Occidental. The infestation re-emerged amid the hot weather," he added.

Insecticides contain the active ingredients etofenprox, a contact and stomach poison, as well as dinotefuran, a systemi...