at the crown level, but both were relatively less abundant there than
on the ground. Trapping reduced both damage and activity in the
treatment plots while these remained high in the reference plots. R.
r. mindanensis exhibited a larger home range (963.2 m2) than R.
exulans (610.7 m2) and preferred a denser, more shrubby cover.

Medium-sized nuts were commonly damaged in the field but R. r.
mindanensis seemed to prefer the developing button stage in cage
tests. R. exulans did not respond well in cage preference tests
regardless of nut size. The relatively greater numbers of R. r.
mindanensis caught at the crown level and their more active feeding
during cage tests strongly suggest that R. r. mindanensis is the major
coconut pest; a conclusion consistent with the findings of other
investigators.

The taking of a large number of S. murinus (an important insectivore
and a nontarget species) as a result of trapping at ground level,
indicates that this and similar control techniques might lead to
undesirable environmental consequences if they are not based on a
thorough understanding and consideration of all relevant ecological
and behavioral factors. Trapping in the crowns was much more selec-
tive in reaching target species and more effective from the standpoint
of long-term damage reduction. However, too selective a control can,
in some cases, lead to replacement of one species (e.g., R. r. minda-
nensis) with the other less dominant form (e.g., R. exu-lans) rather
than a general reduction in damage. Effective rat control in coconut
plantations can be influenced by numerous factors (i.e., species
composition, behavior, meteorological conditions, etc.), and each of
these factors must be taken into consideration and evaluated prior to
the design and implementation of a control program. (Sultan, M.S.
thesis.)

Diffusion of the sustained baiting method among Masagana-99 farmers
in Laguna, Philippines

The Masagana 99 (M-99) rice program in the Philippines is a noncollat-
eral credit program which allows repayable loans to small rice
farmers, provided that they follow recommended farming methods. This
program was considered a logical mechanism by which to disperse infor-
mation and establish the use of ricefield rodent control technology
developed by DWRC and Filipino biologists at the Philippine National
Crop Protection Center (formerly Rodent Research Center). The
inclusion of rat control technology into the M-99 program represented
the first attempt to implement a control program through an extension-
type program. The technology itself is based on the results of
intense scientific study and has received the endorsement of the
Philippine scientific community. With the effectiveness of the method