Strategies for Controlling Cocoa Pod Borer, Conopomorpha cramerella Snellen, on Cocoa Farmers in Langkat District, North Sumatra, Indonesia

DOI

10.2991/absr.k.200513.034How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Conopomorpha cramerella, Dolichoderus thoracicus, Exallomochlus hispidus, cocoa, pest

Abstract

Cocoa Pod Borer (CPB) Conopomorpha cramerella Snellen is the primary cause of significant yield loss up to 80- 90% for smallholders. It is hard to control the pest because most of their lives are in cacao pods, which makes them protected from natural enemies and insecticide applications. This study was conducted to obtain CPB control strategies that can be applied by farmers and to increase their cocoa productions. We observed CPB infestation, the population of its natural enemies Cocoa Black Ant (CBA) Dolichoderus thoracicus along Cocoa Mealybugs (CM) Exallomochlus hispidus, and the cocoa canopy at 10 cocoa farms from March 2018 to June 2019. Mutual association was found between the cocoa black ants and cocoa mealybugs in 62% of the cocoa trees that grown under shade trees. They were found nesting on coconut (Cocos nucifera), soursop (Annona muricata), kapok (Ceiba pentandra), and jackfruit (Artocarpus heterphyllus), that grow around or mixed with cocoa trees inside the farm areas. Most of the cocoa trees had dieback because they did not apply fertilizer and, in some areas, there were no shade trees. In Langkat District, the cocoa black ants and cocoa mealybug symbiosis and populations have grown naturally. Thus, it is enough to provide empty artificial nests of ants as a strategy to increase their populations in the cocoa farms.

Copyright

© 2020, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Ahmad Saleh
AU  - Armaniar
AU  - Abu Hassan Ahmad
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/05/18
TI  - Strategies for Controlling Cocoa Pod Borer, Conopomorpha cramerella Snellen, on Cocoa Farmers in Langkat District, North Sumatra, Indonesia
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference and the 10th Congress of the Entomological Society of Indonesia (ICCESI 2019)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 195
EP  - 200
SN  - 2468-5747
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/absr.k.200513.034
DO  - 10.2991/absr.k.200513.034
ID  - Saleh2020
ER  -