Mealy bugs: Dymicoccus brevipes

Symptoms of damage

• Mealy bugs infest the spear leaves of oil palm seedlings in the nursery and main field
• Yellowing of young leaves and stunted growth of palms.
• It is also infests the unripe and ripe oil palm fruits
• pre anthesising of male and female inflorescences.

• Adult - White mealy bugs.

Management

• Collection and destruction of infested plant parts
• Collect planting material from unaffected plantation
• Spraying with dimethoate at 0.03% or methyl demeton at 0.025%.
• Release coccinellid beetle, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri @ 10 / tree