"We found that there have been several new waves of beetle invasions, not only one as we first expected," Professor Furlong said. UQ's Professor Michael Furlong said the research team investigated the beetle's population genetics and the incidence of the virus in specimens collected in Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Philippines. "If they spread to Australia, garden palms would be at risk, along with the country's emerging date industry, coconuts, oil palms, and many other palms, both wild in the forests and ornamental," Dr. In the last few years, the pest has spread to many South Pacific islands, including islands in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, causing severe agricultural and economic damage. "It seems that they are now unshackled from the virus in some places and could be in Australia before we know it." "This virus stopped the beetle in its tracks and, for the last 50 years or so, it more-or-less stayed put-that is, until now. "In the 1970s, scientists from Australia and elsewhere found that coconut rhinoceros beetles could be controlled with a beetle virus from Malaysia. Kayvan Etebari has been studying how palm-loving coconut rhinoceros beetles have been accelerating their invasion. Apply mixture of either neem seed powder + sand (1:2) g per palm or neem seed kernel powder + sand (1:2) g per palm in the base of the 3 inner most leaves in the crown.University of Queensland researcher Dr.Soak castor cake at 1 kg in 5 liter of water in small mud pots and keep them in the coconut gardens to attract and kill the adults.Field release of Baculovirus oryctes inoculated adult rhinoceros beetle 15 beetles/ha reduces the leaf and crown damage caused by this beetle.Application of green muscardine fungus, Metarrhizium anisopliae 5 x 10 11 spores / m 3 - spray 250ml Metarrizhium culture + 750ml water in manure pits to check the perpetuation of the pest.The dispenser may be hanged in a plastic bucket having 2 liter of insecticide solution once in a week. Set up Rhino lure pheromone trap 5 traps/ha to trap and kill the beetles.Treatment will have to be repeated every six months. Treat manure pits and other possible breeding sites with 0.01% carbaryl (50 % WP) on w/w basis.Place phorate 10 G 5 g in perforated sachets in two inner most leaf axils for 2 times at 6 months intervals.three to four balls) covered with fine sand, once in 45 days. (b) For seedlings, apply Naphthalene balls 10.5 g (approx. (a) Sevidol 8G 25 g + fine sand 200 g, which is to be done thrice in a year in April-May, September-October and December-January. The topmost three leaf axils around the spindle may be filled with any of the following mixtures as a prophylactic measure:.Set up light traps following the first rains in summer and monsoon period to attract and kill the adult beetles.During peak period of population build up, the adult beetle may be extracted from the palm crown using GI hooks.Collect and destroy the various bio-stages of the beetle from the manure pits (breeding ground of the pest) whenever manure is lifted from the pits.Remove and burn all dead coconut trees in the garden (which are likely to serve as breeding ground) to maintain good sanitation.Adult: Adult beetle is stout, brownish black or black and has a long horn projecting dorsally from the head in male.Pupa: Grub pupates in earthen cells at a depth of 0.3 to 1 m.Grub: Grub is stout, sluggish, white "C"-shaped with pale brown head and found at a depth of 5 to 30 cm.Egg: Oval creamy white egg in manure pits or decaying vegetable matter at a depth of 5 to 15 cm.Holes with chewed fibre sticking out at the base of central spindle.Fully opened fronds showing characteristic diamond shaped cuttings.The attacked frond when fully opened shows characteristic triangular cuts.Damage by the pest leads to 10 to 15% loss in yield. The adult beetle bores into the unopened fronds and spathes.Holes with chewed fibre sticking out in central spindle Pest population occurs round the year but population maximum during June – Sep coinciding with the onset of monsoon.
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