PESTS OF COCONUT

 PESTS OF COCONUT

1) COCONUT BLACK-HEADED CATERPILLAR

S.N.- Opisina arenosella

FAMILY- Cryptophasidae

ORDER- Lepidoptera

An adult is a greyish-white moth measuring 10-15 mm long and 20-25 mm in wingspan across outstretched wings.

The moth is straw to ash gray in color, medium-sized with uniform faded whitish top wings.

The woman moth lays approximately a hundred thirty creamy white scale-like eggs in batches alongside the bottom of the leaflet usually near the old larval galleries. Eggs hatch in approximately 4-5 days.

Caterpillar is light inexperienced with crimson brown stripes and blackhead, feed gregariously on the surface tissues of the leaflets scraped out from their lower surface.

The leaflets are decreased to papery tissues.

The larva constructs a gallery of silk and frass and lives and feeds beneath it.

The attacked leaflets turn brown in color and dry up.

The production of nuts receives adversely affected as the photosynthetic hobby of the palm is plenty reduced.

The fronds become fallacious for thatching and other functions. The damage is greater for the duration of hot months (April-June) and less at some point in the wet season. The

Folded leaflets with silken galleriesand frass

Large scale drying of leaflets

• In case of severe attack the whole plantation presenting a burnt up appearance from

a distance.

The grown up larva is about 15 mm long. Larval period lasts for about 40 days. The larva pupates inside the gallery. Adult emerges after 12-14 days.Total life history occupies about 45-60 days.

MANAGEMENT:

Due to the hidden nature of the caterpillars and height of the plants chemical control measures are often inadequate.

• Clipping and destroying the infested portions
• A host of parasites attack different stages of the pest. For obtaining effective control, the scheduled release of a combination of these parasites should be adopted four times depending on the stage of the pest.

• 1^st release immediately when the infestation is observed

• 2^nd – a fortnight after the first

• 3^rd – a month after the second

• 4^th – a fortnight after the third

These parasites are mass multiplied on suitable alternate hosts at four parasite breeding stations located in the important coconut growing areas of A.P.viz., Sompeta.

(Srikakulam), Rajole and Ambajipet (EastGodavari) and Narsapur (West Godavari) . The parasites and their hosts are listed below

1. Bacteria like Serratia marcescens and Bacillus thuringiensis cause disease in larvae.

2. Predatory carabid beetle Parena laticincta

3. Root feeding technique: A dark brown colored root is selected for root administration of monocrotophos to the trees. The root is given a slant cut. The cut end of the root is kept in a polythene bag containing 10 ml of monocrotophos mixed in 10 ml of water for plants having 15 feet height. Allow the root to absorb the chemical

for 24-48 hours. If the root does not absorb the chemical change the root.

2) RHINOCEROS BEETLE

S.N.- Oryctes rhinoceros

FAMILY-Scarabaeidae

ORDER- Coleoptera

It has a wide distribution in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands and is stated from all areas where coconut is grown. It additionally assaults coconut, oil palm, date palm, sugarcane, banana, sisal, pineapple, papaya, and many others.

The adult is a stout beetle measuring 35-50 mm induration, shiny and black above and reddish-brown and bushy ventrally. On the face, the beetle has a pointed horn and for this reason the call, rhinoceros beetle. The cephalic horn is longer in men than in females. Adult lives for greater than 200 days under beneficial conditions. Beetles are drawn to light.

The beetle injures the timber with the aid of dull into the important shoots, spathes and petioles. The uninteresting beetle chews the

internal tissues and after ingesting the juicy part throws out the fibrous part which is indicative of the presence of the beetle in the crowns. The injury by the beetle is clearly.

• A series of holes on the fronds when leaf opens out and fan-like cutting
• Typical ‘V’ shaped clipping/ cuts on mature leaves, in partly damaged crowns
• Death of the central growing primordium of both young and old plants in a severe attack
• Damaged palms often becoming infected by fungal rots.

The damage caused by the beetle is more serious in young trees. The beetle breeds in decaying organic substances. White oval eggs are laid singly in rotting plant

Fabric, mainly dead palm trunks, compost lots and garbage dumps. A single girl lays as much as 140-a hundred and fifty eggs which hatch in eight-18 days.

Grub feeds on decaying natural matter. Full-grown grub is nine-10 cm long, stout, fleshy, dirty white, curved (C- fashioned) with a brownish head. Tail gives up a dark, frame segments wrinkled. Larval length lasts for ninety nine-182 days.

The mature larva first will become a prepupa, before becoming a pupa right. The pupation takes place in a pupal chamber inside the soil or rotting plant cloth.

Pupal length is about 10-25 days, but the grownup beetle may not emerge from the cocoon right now and the maturation duration is spent within the pupal cocoon. Egg-laying starts off evolved 10-60 days after emergence. Total existence cycle takes about 6-one year

1. MANAGEMENT

   Periodical exam of the breeding locations and destruction of eggs, grubs, and pupae by raking and turning up of the manure pits.
   Treating breeding locations with carbaryl 50 WP 3g/l or carbaryl c10D at least once in 3 months e. January, April, July, August.
   Crownless trees and lifeless timber need to be reduced and dried to avoid breeding of the pest.

   Providing poisoned breeding traps made from rotting mustard or castor cake or dung blended with lindane to draw and kill beetles.
   The histerid beetle, Santalus parallelus is predaceous on the eggs and all levels of the grub at the same time as its grub is predaceous at the egg and primary instar grub Agrypnus sp. Predates at the grubs.
   The inexperienced muscardine fungus Metarrhizium anisopliae infects all levels besides eggs.
   The bacteria Serratia marcescens, and Pseudomonas sp. Attack the 0.33 instar grubs.
   Nematode, DD 136 or Neoaplectana carpocapsae and the associated bacterium Achromobacter nematophilus parasitize the g rub.
   Release of Baculovirus inflamed adults.