MANILA - The Philippine government warned of a new malady which threatens to wipe out the country's $ 760 million coconut industry in three years' time.

Called the coconut hispine beetle (Brontispa longissima Gestro), it has already affected about 70,000 trees or 700 hectares of coconut plantation.

CIIF Oil Mills Group president and CEO Danilo Coronacion, said these pests are native to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia and were brought to the Philippines in 2004 through ornamental plants imported from Thailand and Vietnam. These pests were first spotted preying on palm trees along the Baywalk strip of Roxas Boulevard in Manila and along the stretch of Silang to Dasmarinas highway in Cavite.

Coronacion said the infestation had spread in different areas throughout the country from southern Luzon to Mindanao.

According to the Philippine Coconut Authority, Brontispa feeds on young leaves, which then appear burned or scorched and may cause death to young palms and those situated in poor growing conditions.

The beetle causes great damage to seedlings and mature coconut palms, kills the young spears and eventually the whole palm. Ornamental palms suffer the same fate.

The larva and adult are the destructive stages. They damage the epiderms of the young leaves that eventually provide easy entry for pathogens. The adult is not capable of long flights but its long life span lasting from 75 to 90 days is responsible for the short distance spread of the insect.

On the other hand, the larva feeds throughout its growing period, which normally lasts for 36 days. Both larva and adult stay between unopened leaflets of young coconut spears. They feed on the soft tissues but spare the hardier veins and mid-ribs. Affected parts decay and dry up, thus preventing the coconut palm from bearing fruits, it said.

The PCA said the eggs of this beetle are difficult to detect because they are inserted between leaflets. Thus, planting materials of coconuts and ornamental that are intended for transport to non-infested areas should be inspected thoroughly.

It said chemical spraying is ineffective against this pest and is hazardous to non-target organisms and the environment in general.

Based on the study conducted by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development, the pest is best controlled by pruning, clean culture, and proper disposal of infested coconut palms or parts thereof.

Biological control is also advisable by using the fungi, Metarrhizium and Beauveria, and the parasitoid, Ascodes hispinarum.

The hispine beetle is considered one of the most damaging pests of coconut and other palm species. The beetle is endemic in Sulawesi, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and spread in the late 1990s to Southeast Asia and Maldives where it severely damaged coconut production. *PNA

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