The effects of mortality and influence of pheromone trapping on the infestation of Oryctes rhinoceros in an oil palm plantation.

Abstract The infestation levels of O. rhinoceros were investigated in the oil palm trunk heaps in three replanting blocks (Blocks A, B and C) at Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. These blocks had different densities of pheromone trapping: high (11 traps per ha, Block B), normal (1 trap per 2 ha, Block C), while no pheromone trapping was conducted in (Block A. Without pheromone trapping, the infestation levels of O. rhinoceros can reach a maximum density of between 25 to 50 individuals per m 2 (IPMS). The O. rhinoceros population was still detected in the heaps up to more than two years (at 26 months after replanting). With high density trapping, infestation levels were maintained below 10 IPMS and was not detected in the heaps after a period of 16 months of replanting. In the normal trapping density, the population was also maintained below 10 IPMS but had sustained itself in the heaps for up to 24 months. The mortality factors associated with the larval stages sampled within these replanting blocks was determined by visual symptoms with subsequent verification with microbial analysis. The analysis was narrowed down to detect only bacteria ( Bacillus thuringiensis and B. popillae ), virus ( Oryctes virus) and fungus ( Metarhizium ). In Block A, the population of O. rhinoceros in the trunks was reduced drastically at 14 months after replanting (MAR), which could be due to the high mortality (88%) of the third instar larvae, 3 months earlier. In Block B, the percentage mortality for the larval stage was always highest at the third instars (between 21–82%). In Block C however, the mortality of the third instars was low, never exceeding 35%. In these sampling blocks, the infection of Metarhizium seem to be less dominant compared to virus or bacteria The k factor analysis indicates density dependence among the third instar larvae had contributed to the change in its population density in Block A. Therefore, with proper manipulation of pheromone traps and targeted application of disease agents (i.e virus, fungus and bacteria), the population of O. rhinoceros can be managed more effectively in an oil palm replanting.