Coconut trees stripped of their young leaves are easy target of the coconut beetle and scale insect.
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class Mon to Fri
Today there's a serious pest of coconut - Scale Insects (Aspidiotus destructor). Several provinces particularly in Region 4 have been placed under emergency. Harvesting young leaves of coconut for handicraft, culinary, palaspas, and the like, further predisposes infested coconut trees to succumb. The young leaves are the ultimate defence when the older leaves are heavily infested with the scale insect.
Rhinocerus
beetle (Oryctes rhinocerus) is a scourge of coconut,drastically
reducing production, if not killing the tree at any stage. Right, a
healthy tree can produce up to 50 nuts every two month.
Mode
of attack by both the larva (grub) and the adult characterized by
boring into the very heart of the crown destroying the unopened bud
leaves. Right, damage bud after emergence. Heavy
infestation results in the decapitation of the standing tree.
Palm
Sunday is a nemesis to the coconut trees, and to the coconut industry,
the mainstay of the Philippine economy in coconut-based areas. Thousands
of trees are sacrificed for their young leaves made into paslaspas during Palm Sunday (Holy Week). Young trees are killed for the bud leaves as well as for the the core or ubod which is made into fresh lumpia, a popular delicacy.
Coconut
tree stripped of their young leaves for palaspas are easy target of the
coconut beetle. The inflicted wound attracts the fecund female
rhinoceros beetle to lay eggs, and the wound serves as entry for the
newly hatch grubs which ultimately will bore and destroy the tree. Adult
beetles are likewise lured to attack wounded trees. Analogous to this
is that, after a typhoon, infestation rises sharply. Weakened condition
of wounded trees exacerbate the damage which leads to premature death.
Coconut trees are known to live productively for fifty years,and even
longer.
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