Pests and Their Management in Coconut

Important pests of coconut include Rhinoceros beetle Oryctes rhinoceros Linn., red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, black headed caterpillar Opisina arenosella, white grub Leucopholis coneophora, coreid bug Paradasynus rostratus, hard scales Aspidiotus destructor, Aonidiella orientalis, Lepidosaphes megregori and Chionaspis sp., soft scales Ceroplastes floridensis, Coccus hesperidum and Vinsonia stellifera, mealybugs Palmicultor palmarum, Pseudococcus coccotis, Pseudococcus longispinus, Pseudococcus cryptus, Planococcus lilacinus, Pseudococcus microadonidum, Nipaecoccus nipae and Dysmicoccus finitimus, root mealybugs Rhizoecus cocois and Xenococcus acropygae, termite Odontotermes obesus, slug caterpillars Parasa lepida, Contheyla rotunda and Macroplecta nararia, coconut defoliator Phalacra sp., whiteflies Aleurocanthus arecae, Aleurodicus dispersus and Aleurodicus rugioperculatus, coconut skippers Gangara thyrsis thyrsis and Suastus gremius gremius and the lace wing bug Stephanitis typicus. The other minor insect pests include the Bombay locust Patanga succincta, grasshopper Aularches miliaris, leaf beetle Callispa minima, caterpillars Batrachedra arenosella, Coconympha iridarcha, Tunaca acutantidae and Manatha albipes, aphids Cerataphis brasiliensis, Hysteroneura setariae, Haplothrips ceylonicus and Cyclodes omma, shot-hole borers Xyleborus parvulus and Xyleborus similis, weevils Diocalandra stigmaticollis and Amorphoidea coimbatorensis, red tree ant Oecophylla smaragdina, eriophyid mite Aceria guerreronis, rodent Rattus rattus wroughtoni and the nematode Radopholus similis. Various methods of management practices of the key pests are also discussed.