| Bio-Control Research Laboratories (BCRL), a division of the Pest Control-India, has announced the use of pheromone technology for mass trapping of Rhinoceros Beetle (RB) and Red Palm Weevil (RPW) on coconut palms.
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| The indigenous technology is low cost and is more effective than chemical pest control methods, the company officials claimed.
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| Pheromones are chemical substances produced by a living organism that transmits a message to other members of the same species. There are alarm pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones and many others that affect behaviour or physiology.
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| “This technology is being adopted after a year-long field study carried out on coconut plantations in large scale spread across 400 acres, with 100 acres each in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu from May 2006 to March 2007 jointly by The Coconut Development Board and BCRL,” said K P Jayanth, vice-president, BCRL.
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| The pheromone lures along with the trap now cost Rs 120 and imported lures cost between Rs 500 and Rs 600, he added.
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| The pheromone technology field test was undertaken with the assistance of Coconut Development Board through its ‘Technology Mission on Coconut’. The studies revealed that mass trapping is more effective when combined with sanitation in coconut farms.
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| “Sustained mass trapping through community approach over large areas appear to have the potential to bring down the population density of these noxious pests, particularly in parts of the country where per capita land holdings are small,” he said.
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| RPW is a pest, which affects coconut palms. Adults of RPW lay eggs in wounds along the trunk, through which they gain entry and feeding by large number of larvae cause the death of trees.
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| According to Jayanth, “It is very difficult for farmers to detect early stages of RPW infestation and they become aware of the problem only when the tree is about to die.”
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| The estimated damage in Kerala is reported to be 13.9 trees per acre over five years. Loss due to RPW is said to be 25 per cent.
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| Speaking on the occasion, Vijayakumar Hallikeri, deputy director, Coconut Development Board, said, “The board is planning to take up Alapuzha district in Kerala for mass trapping. It will be undertaken door-to-door on the lines of pulse polio immunisation drive. This will be replicated in other states.”
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| Along with the BCRL study, the board through cluster approach in Karnataka has been successful in pest control.
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| “In Karnataka, six clusters were identified at Maddur, Chamarajanagar, Chanarayapatna, Kadur, Tiptur and Arsikere,” said Hallikeri.
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| “The BCRL has indigenously synthesised the aggregation pheromone and produces lures there by bringing the cost drastically Rs 500 to Rs 120,” he added. |
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