Protecting coconut palms from pest and diseases

– Integrated Pest Management

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a holistic approach to crop protection based on the integration of multiple strategies, namely, cultural, physical, mechanical, biological and chemical. IPM programmes are often devised to keep the pest populations to a level that is
lower than the economical threshold levels.

Modern IPM incorporates agro-ecosystem analysis, ecological engineering, pesticide application techniques, plant-health at different stages, pest and defender population dynamics, soil conditions, climatic factors and utilisation of farmers’ past experience.
Farmers are encouraged to make decisions based on their collective observations and to share their knowledge with each other. The reliance of pesticides in farming is a major cause of widespread ecological imbalance resulting in pesticide residue contamination, insect resistance and pest resurgence.

There is rising public concern about potential adverse effects of pesticides on human health, environment and biodiversity. These effects can be minimized through the development, dissemination and promotion of sustainable bio intensive approaches. This approach will enable farmers to take informed decisions and will also result in use of chemical pesticides only as a last resort and in a safe and judicious manner.

Resistance to pesticides occurs when there is a heritable change in the sensitivity of a pest population that is reflected in the repeated failure of a product to achieve the expected level of control when used according to the label recommendation for that pest species. The causes and rate at which pesticide resistance develops depend on several factors, including how rapidly the pest reproduces, the pest’s level of resistance, the migration and host range of the pest, the pest’s persistence and specificity, and the rate, timing and number of applications of pesticide made.

For instance, insect pests that survive in large populations and breed quickly are at greater advantage of developing resistance especially when insecticides are misused or over-used. The following IPM strategies are recommended to avoid pesticide resistance:
1. Monitoring: Pest population development in the field should be monitored to determine if and when control measures are warranted. Also, one should monitor and consider the number of natural enemies when making control decisions. After treatment, continue monitoring to assess pest populations. Pesticides should be used only as a last resort when all other non-chemical management options are exhausted. Apply bio-pesticides or chemical insecticides judiciously when the pests are in most vulnerable life stage. One should adhere to application rates and intervals as per label directions.

2. Pesticide selection: Pesticides should be selected with care and considerations should be made on the impact on future pest populations and the environment. For example, one should avoid broad-spectrum insecticides when a specific insecticide will work. Preference should be given to green labelled insecticides.
3. Pesticide application: While applying pesticides, extreme care should be taken in their application in terms of dose, volume, timing, coverage and application techniques as per label directions.

4. Pesticide rotation: One should avoid the repeated use of the same pesticide, pesticides in the same chemical class, or pesticides in different classes with same mode of action and rotate/alternate pesticide classes and modes of action.
5. Maintenance of conservation areas: Care should be taken to preserve susceptible individuals within the target population by leaving unsprayed areas within treated fields. These susceptible individuals may outcompete and interbreed with resistant individuals, diluting the resistant genes and therefore the impact of resistance.

Surveillance
As an IPM requirement, surveillance or plantation scouting on pest occurrence and other observations at the plantation should commence soon after plant establishment and be done on a weekly basis. Decisions should be taken based on analysis of the field situation, viz., soil conditions, weather, disease type and severity, pest levels, damage severity and number of natural enemies.
Farmers are encouraged to keep a record of their observations and data collected. Keeping records of what happened helps in making an analysis and drawing conclusions. The farmer should be able to provide answers to the following questions:

1. Is there a change in the crop situation compared to the last surveillance?
2. What kind of change?
3. Is there any serious pest or disease outbreak?
4. Are there beneficial insects?
5. Is there a balance in the field between pests and defenders (beneficial insects/predators)?
6. Were all the pest and diseases identifiable?
7. Is the crop healthy?
8. What management practices are needed at this moment?
9. When will it be done?
10. Who will do it?
11. Who is responsible for what activity?
12. What can be done to avoid the problems observed?

Proper surveillance requires skill and knowledge and the farmer has to be properly trained to undertake this exercise. For example, when scouting for diseases, the farmer must be aware of problems caused by biotic factors such as fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens, or abiotic factors such as weather, nutrient deficiencies, pesticides and soil problems. In many cases, the cause of the symptom is not obvious. Laboratory culture and analysis will then be required for proper diagnosis of the causal agent of the disease.

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