AEN 401 T16

ARECANUT AND COFFEE

 ARECANUT
Inflorescence Tirathaba mundella Pyralidae Lepidoptera
caterpillar
Spindle bug Carvalhoia arecae Miridae Hemiptera

Inflorescence Ceratiphis lataniae Aphididae Hemiptera

aphid
Scale insect Icerya aegyptica Margarodidae Hemiptera

Root grub Leucopholis Melolonthidae Coleoptera

burmeisteri
Thrips Rhiphiphorathrips Thripidae Thysanoptera
cruentatus
Black headed Opisina arenosella Cryptophasidae Lepidoptera
caterpillar
Leaf caterpillar Elymna candata Satyridae Lepidoptera
 1.Inflorescence caterpillar, Tirathaba
mundella F: Pyralidae O: Lepidoptera

• Unopened spathe with bore hole at the base. Spathe opening is

delayed.
• Caterpillars bore inside the spadices and feed on the
inflorescences (tender female flowers) and rachillae.
• It webs tender branches of the inflorescence with silken thread.
Bore into tender buttons and nuts
• Larva is dirty yellow or white with brown head. (26 days)
• Pupal period 9-11 days
• Adult is a small moth with ashy wings.
 Management
• Force open the inflorescence out of the
enclosing spathe and spray with
Monocrotophos .05%
• Control slugs which predispose
inflorescence to the attack of caterpillar by
using bit of metaldehyde
 Spindle bug, Carvalhoia arecae (Mircarvalhoia
arecae) F:Miridae O:Hemiptera
• Nymphs and adults inhabit the inner most leaf axils,
usually below the spindle.
• Suck the sap from tender leaflets and spindle. In
severe infestation, blackish brown linear lesions
formed on the spindle leaf, leaves become stunted,
twisted, dried and shed.
• Nymphs are light violet brown, greenish yellow in
border of the body.
• Adult is brightly coloured with red and black.
• Eggs laid between leaflets of the spindle 9days
• Five nymphal instars
• TLC 15-24days
• Management:
• Fill the inner most leaf axils around the spindle with
phorate 10% granules (10g/plant) at 3months interval
• Phorate 10% granules can be placed in sachets 2g/tree
• Spray crowns with Carbaryl 0.1%
 Coconut aphid, palm aphid
Cerataphis brasiliensis (Hempel) Aphididae::
Hemiptera
• Host plant Coconut, date palm.
• The palm aphid has a slightly convex to flat, oval-
shaped body with a white, waxy fringe.
• In all life cycle stages of the aphid, a pair of small
spikes, or horns, occur on the frontal head region.
• The horns appear to be used for offensive and
defensive dueling at feeding sites
• Adult palm aphids are wingless and have an oval,
slightly convex body that is dark brown and glossy
with a peripheral fringe of white wax plates.
 Arecanut whitefly Aleurocanthus arecae
Aleyrodidae: Hemiptera

• Inflorescence and young nuts smeared with sooty

mould and premature shedding of nuts.

Natural enemy Ablerus sp.

 Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby
Host plants
•Areca sp., Bambusa sp., sapota, citrus, curryleaf,
coffee.
Pest status
•A serious pest on citrus and coffee.
Natural enemies
•Ablerus connectans, A. inquirenda, A. macrochaeta,
Cales noacki, Encarsia basicincta, E. bennetti, E.
clypealis, E. colima, E. divergens, E. elegans, E. ishii,
E. longifasciata, Encarsia spp., Eretmocerus
breviclavus, E. serius, Amitus hesperidum, Signiphora
sp.
•Citrus blackfly
 Scale insect Aonidiella orientalis Diaspididae
Icerya aegyptiaca F:Margarodidae O:Hemiptera

• Colonize the leaves, spathes, leaf sheaths and

bunch
• Stalks and base of the ripe nuts with black
necrotic patches.
• Premature yellowing of nuts
• Kernel may not develop and may turn black and
shrivel up
• Spraying of 0.04% diazinon, dichlorvos,
monocrotophos , quinolphos
 Root grub, Leucopholis
burmeisteri F:Melolonthidae O; Coleoptera
• Grubs feed on growing roots. Infested palms show a sickly
appearance and yellowing of leaves, drying and dropping of
leaves.
• Grubs feed on roots of grasses, banana, cocoa, tapioca, yams
• Beetles emerge during May-June after 8-10 days of showers
• Egg – Soil – 10cm depth - three weeks
• Grub 3 instars – 7-8 months
• Pupa- in soil in mud cocoon – one month
• Adult beetle is chestnut brown in colour.

chestnut
 Management
• Collect and destroy the adult beetles
• Loosen soil around the base of the palm to a
depth of 10-15cm and drench witrh 0.04%
chlorpyriphos twice in may just before the onset
of momnsoon and in september towars the cloose
of monsoon
• Repeat the application for 2-3 years to eradicate
the pest
• Apply phorate 15g/palm – in May and September
Coffee bean weevil, arecanut beetle, cocoa
weevil, nutmeg weevil
Araecerus fasciculatus Anthribidae
Habitat / Crop(s) damaged
•Several stored products including coffee, arecanut, cocoa,
nutmeg, cassava, etc.
•The larvae damage the ripening berries of coffee in storage
and adults make circular holes on emergence.
•The adult beetle is small with a humped body outline and
long legs.
•The dorsal side is mottled with dark and light brown and the
antennae are long with a three-segmented club, darker than the
rest of the segments.
Pest status :A major pest of stored products, particularly coffee
and cocoa.
 Spotted grasshopper, spotted locust, coffee locust
Aularches miliaris (Linnaeus)
Pyrgomorphidae:Orthoptera
•Adults are brightly and aposematically colored with a black head, yellow
tuberculate thorax, greenish forewings with yellow spots and a black and red-
banded abdomen. Nymphs are blackish with yellow markings.
Habitat / Crop(s) damaged
•It is commonly found in plantations and is a minor pest of coconut, arecanut,
jack, banana, tea, coffee, cacao, teak, rubber, Erythrina indica, cardamom,
cassava, pigeonpea, castor, guava, mango, mulberry, and many other plants.
Pest status
•Minor, causing occasional economic damage. The IUCN has designated this
insect as a lower risk, near-threatened taxon for South India.
 Metallic shield bug, lychee shield bug
Chrysocoris stolli Scutelleridae

Common name
Habitat / Crop(s) damaged
• Pigeonpea, pongamia,
jatropha, arecanut, etc.
Pest status
• Minor.
 Tailed palmfly
Elymnias caudata Nymphalidae: Lepidoptera

Habitat / Crop(s) damaged

•Arecanut, coconut, ornamental palms.
Larval feeding results in leaves with irregularly clipped
blades. The caterpillar is green with deep grey head with a
pair of black horns, yellow stripes on dorsal side and a
bifid caudal process and is found on the leaf margins.
 Vertebrate pests
• Monkeys – peel the fruit epicarp, pluck unripe fruits
• Wild boars – chew the wholenut
• Bats – damage ripe or over ripe fruits
• Rats –damage seedlings
• Management:
• Power fencing -Ibex Gallagher Pvt Ltd, Bangalore
• Cracker bursting
• Repellent odours like waste tire burning
• Keeping dogs for chasing monkeys
PESTS OF COFFEE
•Coffee boosts your physical performance. ...
•Coffee may help you lose weight. ...
•Coffee helps you burn fat. ...
•Coffee helps you focus and stay alert. ...
•Coffee lowers risk of death. ...
•Coffee reduces risk of cancers. ...
•Coffee reduces risk of stroke. ...
•Coffee reduces risk of Parkinson's disease
 Major pests

1. White stem borer Xylotrechus quadripes Cerambycidae Coleoptera

2. Red borer Zeuzera coffeae Cossidae Lepidoptera

3. Shot hole borer Xylosandrus compactus Scolytidae Coleoptera

4. Berry borer Hypothenemus hampei Scolytidae Coleoptera

5. Green scale Coccus viridis Coccidae Hemiptera

Minor pest

6. Mealy bug Ferrisia virgata , Planococcus Pseudococcidae Hemiptera

lilacinus, P. citri
BORERS
 White stem borer:Xylotrechus quadripes,
Distribution
Cerambycidae:Coleoptera
South India, Assam, Myanmar, Srilanka,
Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia
Host range
Coffee, Ixora, Olea dioica
Biology
Symptoms:

The grubs burrow into the stem

and cause yellowing of leaves,
wilting of branches and
occasional drying of plants.
Presence of ridges on the stem
 White stem borer:Xylotrechus quadripes,
Cerambycidae:Coleoptera

Biology
Egg period: 9-15days, 100 eggs/ female
Eggs: small and whitish in colour
Adult: Eggs laid in small groups in cracks on the stem under
the bark
Slender, elongate
cerambycid with Larval period: 10 months
white cross bands and Full grown grub: pale yellow in
dark brown elytra colour, stout and swollen
toward head and 2-3 cm long
Pupal period: One month
Pupation: within the tunnel after making exit hole
Management
Maintain optimum shade on the estates

Uproot and burn borer infested plants during March

– April and September – October

Undertake scrubbing to remove loose scaly bark of the main stem

and thick primaries using coir glove or coconut husk to get rid of
cracks and crevices

Swab/ spray the main stem and thick primaries once in April to
May
and once or twice in October during flight periods with lindane 20
EC @ 1300 ml in 200 lit of water along with 200 ml of wetting
agent
Padding with monocrotophos 36 SL @ 5 ml by making a window in
the stem at 5 cm and filling it with absorbent cotton soaked in
insecticide solution an NSKE 5% also can be applied frequently.
 2. Red borer, Zeuzera coffeae
F: Cossidae; O: Lepidoptera
Symptoms:
The larvae cause wilting of branches or plant.
Boreholes often are plugged with excreta at the
base of the plant
Larva: Orange red and smooth
Adult: With dirty white bands and black or steel
blue spots on the wings
Red borer: Zeuzera coffeae
Cossidae:Lepidoptera
Distribution
India and Malaysia

Host range
Coffee and cocoa

Biology

Egg period: 8 -12 days

Eggs laid in strings on the barks
Adult:
White moth with Grub: 12-18 days
black or steel blue Reddish in colour
spots in the wings Pupal: 6-8 days
Pupation: inside the tunnel
Management

Cut and burn red borer infested plants or twigs

Encourage the activity of braconid parasite: Amyosoma zeuzerae

White muscardine fungus: Beauveria bassiana

Shot hole borer: Xylosandrus compactus
Scolytidae:Coleoptera
Distribution
India, Madagascar, South East Asia and New Guinea

Host range
Coffee, Tea, Citrus, Avocado, Castor, Rubber and Cinchona

Biology

Egg period: 2-3 days, 50 eggs/ female

Eggs laid in groups of 5-8 eggs
Adult:
Light reddish brown Grub: 13-21days
beetle with short Milky white in colour
cylindrical body Pupal: 11 days
 Management

Prune affected twigs 2 to 3 inches beyond the shot – hole and burn
them

Remove and destroy all the unwanted/ infested suckers during summer

Maintain thin shade and good drainage

 Coffee berry borer:Hypothenemus hampei,
Scolytidae: Coleoptera
Distribution
Africa, India, Srilanka, South East Asia,
Indonesia, Brazil and Colombia
Host range
Coffee, Hibiscus, Rubiaceae, Leguminous plants
Biology Egg period: 5-9 days, 50 eggs/ female
Eggs laid in the tunnel on the berry
Adult:
Small black beetle
Grub: 20 days
with a sub cylindrical
Apodous grub with brownish
body covered with
head
thick hairs
Pupal: 7 days
Pupation: inside the berries
 Coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei
F:Scolytidae; O:Coleoptera
Symptoms:
Dropping of tender
berries.
Presence of small, round
hole in the navel
region of developed
berry.
Damage to endosperm by
making small galleries
near the main tunnel.
Female adults tunnel in
berry. Grubs feed on
bean
Management
Adopt cultural and phytosanitary measures
Keep the field a longer period without berries to reduce the carry over
inoculum
Do not leave behind any berry on plants after harvest
Follow timely harvest
Spread gunny bags or polythene sheets on the ground to minimize
cleaning
Maintain optimum shade and good drainage
Collect and destroy infested fruits by burning
Dip infested berries in boiling water for 2-3 min to kill the stages
inside
 Dry coffee to the prescribed moisture level to prevent breeding of
beetles in stored coffee (Arabica / Robusta parchement 10% , Robusta
cherry 11%)
Insecticides: dimethoate 30 EC 340 ml/ 240 lit of water + 200 ml of
wetting agent on 120 –150 days after flowering ( August – September
for Arabica and September – October for Robusta)
Dry infested crop on the spot, fumigate and then transport by using
fumigated gunny bags to avoid the spread of the pest to uninfested
areas
Fumigate cloth bags before delivery to estates to avoid cross
infestation
White muscardine fungus: Beauveria bassiana @ 109 spores/ ml
Use attractant trap to collect and kill the beetles
SAP FEEDERS
 Coffee green scale: Coccus viridis
Coccidae: Hemiptera
Distribution
India, Srilanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh,
Thailand and Malaysia

Host range
Coffee, Citrus, Guava, Mango and Tea

Biology
Egg period: 1 days Nymphal:
50-600 eggs / female
pale yellow in colour

Adult:
Green coloured, flat, oval soft bodied
TLC:1-3 months
 Green scale, Coccus viridis

Symptoms:
Severe infestation
resulting in discoloured
leaves and fruits
Infested leaves are often
covered with sooty
mould
Tender shoots and
undersurface of leaves
are covered with scale
Management

Spray white halo fungus Verticillum lecanii fungus @ 6x106

spores/ml.
Release Australian ladybird beetle Cryptolaemus montrouzieri @
750/ha

Remove and burn weeds which harbour the scale

Control ants by dusting quinalphos 1.5 % or methyl parathion 2

% around the base of coffee
Spray Insecticides: quinalphos 25 EC 300 ml or methyl parathion
50 EC 300 ml or dimethoate 30 EC 420 ml/ ha in 200 lit of water
Mealy bug: Planococcus spp.
Pseudococcidae: Hemiptera
Distribution
All over India
*Three nymphal instars
Host range Reproduction by parthenogenesis

Coffee and Citrus

Biology
Nymphal:
Egg period: 3 days
100 –1000 eggs / female Nymphs with mealy
covering over the body
Adult:
Oval body, clothed with mealy secretion in the
form of small white threads.
Female: wingless
Male: winged, TLC : 30 days
Management

Maintain adequate shade

Control ants by dusting quinalphos 1.5 % or methyl parathion 2 %
around the base of coffee
Insecticides: quinalphos 25 EC 750 ml or fenthion 100 EC 375 ml
or fenitrothion 50 EC 750 ml/ha
If the roots are infested, drench the soil near the root zone with any
one of the above insecticides at the same dosage
In young plants(2-4 year old), drench with dimethoate 30 EC 3 ml/
lit to control both root and shoot mealy bug
Release two introduced natural enemies viz., Cryptolaemus
montrouzieri and parasitoid, Leptomastrix dactylopii
Coffee bean weevil, arecanut beetle, cocoa
weevil, nutmeg weevil
Araecerus fasciculatus Anthribidae
Habitat / Crop(s) damaged
•Several stored products including coffee, arecanut, cocoa,
nutmeg, cassava, etc.
•The larvae damage the ripening berries of coffee in storage
and adults make circular holes on emergence.
•The adult beetle is small with a humped body outline and
long legs.
•The dorsal side is mottled with dark and light brown and the
antennae are long with a three-segmented club, darker than the
rest of the segments.
Pest status :A major pest of stored products, particularly coffee
and cocoa.
Coffee brown scale: Saissetia
coffeae
OTHER PESTS

Leaf miner: Melanagromyza coffeae, Agromyzidae: Diptera

Hairy caterpillar: Eupterote canaraica, Bombycidae: Lepidoptera

Slug caterpillar: Parasa lepida, Cochlidiidae: Lepidoptera

Aphids: Toxoptera aurantii, Aphididae: Hemiptera

Thrips: Scirtothrips bispinosus, Thripidae: Thysanoptera

Root grub: Holotrichia conferta, Melolonthidae: Coleoptera

Snail: Ariophanta solata, Ariophantidae: Gastropoda: Mollusca