Integrated Pest Management in Coconut
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Date
1999
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Abstract
In India, the major pests of coconut palm include the rhinoceros beetle. leaf eating caterpillar, red palm weevil and white grubs. There are occasional/sporadic pests such as, the slug caterpillars. coreid bug. lace bug, scale insects, mealy bugs, mites and rodents. Rhinoceros beetle is a ubiquitous pest causing serious damage to the unopened fronds and inflorescences. Integrated pest management of rhinoceros beetle may lead to an increase in yield of 5·8 nuts per palm per year. Biological suppression with the viral pathogen baculovirus of Orycres is an effective tool included in the IPM schedule for this pest. The leal eating caterpillar is a major pest in the coastal. backwater and certain interior tracts. Peak occurrence of this pest is during summer months. Relative humidity is a key factor favouring the build up of this pest. Technology involving u!;e of parasitoids and predators has been developed for the management of pest outbreaks. The iissue borer· red palm weevil is the most dreaded enemy of coconut. IPM schedule consisting of plant and field sanitation. prophylactic/curative control measures and trapping of adult weevils is effective in the management of the red palm weeVil. Root grubs cause severe damage in coastal sandy loam soils. This is a polyphagous pest affecting coconut and its intercrops. A permanent solution for this pest is feasible only by the integration of all known methods of control. For the control of the pest of minor importance, proper monitoring and surveillance are necessary to formulate a suitable biointensive IPM system wherein need based application of pesticides is undertaken.
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IPM System in Agriculture,Vol.5.Oilseeds,1999,pp.471-491