Insect pests affecting oil palms

Description

Monocultures – including oil palm – are known to induce strong parasitic pressure. Coleoptera and Lepidoptera are the main insect pests affecting oil palms in all continents where it is cultivated. This chapter offers an overview of the major types of oil palm pests (23 species) that have been selected from among the most damaging groups in Latin America, West Africa, South East Asia and the Pacific as examples for illustrating the relationships found between the oil palm and herbivorous arthropods, before looking ahead to future research trends in the study of oil palm pests.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Insect pests of oil palm fronds 3 Coleoptera Curculionidae 4 Orthoptera Pyrgomorphidae 5 Insect pests of the oil palm meristem 6 Insect pests of the oil palm root system 7 Insect pests of oil palm bunches 8 Future trends and conclusion 9 Acknowledgements 10 References