Bioecology of coconut whitegrub Leucopholis coneophora Burmeister in Kerala
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Date
2007-02-08
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Abstract
Studies were carried out on the ecology, biology and population dynamics of Leucopholis coneophora Burmeister (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae), a key pest of coconut in India. The adult emergence from soil was observed in the field after 4-5 rainy days irrespective of the amount of rainfall, combined with a sudden fall in soil temperature. In the field-collected samples the ratio of female to male was 1:8. Adults of both sexes were also found attracted to light traps in small numbers and their female to male sex ratio was 1:5. Out of several plant species screened in lab cages, the tender leaves of mango (257 mmVday) were preferred over cashew, banana, sapota and coconut. An average fecundity of 23.08 (± 1.985) eggs per female was observed in the lab. The incubation period was 23.94 (± 0.134) days and the I, II and III larval instars were completed in 40, 55 and 175 days respectively followed by the pupal period of 25 days. Feeding potential of III instar larvae has revealed that an average of 1.03g of fresh coconut root/larva was consumed in 24 hours. The phenology of the pest has been investigated and the peak population of the pest was observed in the field during the month of September.
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bioecology, coconut pests, whitegrub, leucopholis coneophora
Citation
J.Plantn.Crops 1993 suppl. v-21 p-167-172