Integrated pest management of leaf-eating caterpillars of oil palms in Sabah.
Among the leaf-eating caterpillars, the bagworms (Psychidae) and nettle caterpillars (Limacodidae) are the most common defoliators in oil palm plantations in Sabah. Species that have occurred at least once in outbreak proportions in the past 35 years include Mahasena corbetti, Pteroma pendula, Metisa plana, Setothosea asigna, Setora nitens and Darna trima. Although oil palm is an introduced crop, the pests attacking it are indigenous to Sabah. As such, they have well-developed natural enemy complexes that have evolved together with them. Major pest outbreaks were common in the 1960's-1970's. As large areas of cocoa were converted to oil palms, the oil palm belt merged and became contiguous. Thus, there is an even greater potential for pest outbreaks to spread from one area to another. All pest outbreaks occur when there is an imbalance in the ecological system, mainly due to unhealthy cultural practices and intensive spraying with contact-action insecticides, both from the air and from the ground. Effective levels of control are only achieved when an integrated pest control approach is adopted. This includes a combination of several factors: a comprehensive surveillance system, cultural practices, such as the conservation of certain nectariferous plants/planting of legumes in the field, timely use of predators, parasitoids and pathogens, and the judicious use of certain insecticides.
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| Format: | Texto biblioteca |
| Language: | d |
| Subjects: | Control integrado de plagas, Gusano canasta, Insectos dañinos., Insectos defoliadores., Palma de aceite, |
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