Folivorous Insect Fauna On Two Banana Cultivars And Their Association With Non-Banana Plants

Okolle, Justin N., and Mashhor M, and Abu Hassan A, (2006) Folivorous Insect Fauna On Two Banana Cultivars And Their Association With Non-Banana Plants. Journal of Bioscience, 17 (1). pp. 89-101.

Preview

PDF - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
314Kb

Affiliations

Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Biological Sciences.
Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Biological Sciences.
Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Biological Sciences.

Abstract

Sampling of leaf-feeding insects and their damage were carried out on two newly planted fields of a common local banana cultivar (Pisang Mas) and a commercial cultivar (Cavendish). In both fields, sampling was done biweekly from the first month after planting till the first fruits emerged. The presence or absence of these insects was also recorded on non-banana crops and weeds. Five folivorous insect species belonging to five families from three orders were recorded on both banana cultivars. The Malaysian locust, Valanga nigricornis and the cluster caterpillar, Spodoptera litura were the first colonizers. Spodoptera litura was most damaging on Pisang Mas, causing 65.4% death of 1–2 month old plants, while Erionota thrax was most damaging on Cavendish. The banana skipper, E. thrax, was found to complete its entire life cycle on the banana host, with adults feeding on fluids in the flowers. Only V. nigricornis and the gold dust weevil, Hypomeces sqamosus, were found on non-banana crops and weeds around the field. Erionota thrax was never found on any of the weeds and non-banana crops while other Erionota species, insect predators and parasitoids were commonly found on Asystasia intrusa and Ipomoea cairica. Spodoptera litura and E. thrax are very important pests on young banana plants of 1–5 months old. Asystasia intrusa serves as an important weed host for several ants, wasps and lepidopterans other than E. thrax.

Persampelan serangga pemakan daun dan kerosakan akibatnya telah dijalankan di dua tapak tanaman baru, melibatkan kultur pisang tempatan biasa (Pisang Mas) dan kultur komersial (Cavendish). Pada kedua-dua tapak kajian, persampelan telah dijalankan setiap dua minggu bermula dari bulan pertama selepas penanaman sehingga tumbuhan mengeluarkan hasil pertama. Kehadiran serangga ini turut direkodkan pada tumbuhan lain dan rumpai yang terdapat di kawasan kajian. Lima spesies serangga pemakan daun daripada lima famili dan tiga order telah direkodkan pada kedua-dua kultur tanaman kajian. Belalang tempatan, Valanga nigricornis dan ulat beluncas, Spodoptera litura dikenal pasti sebagai spesies perintis. S. litura merupakan perosak utama Pisang Mas yang mengakibatkan 65.4% kematian tumbuhan berusia 1–2 bulan, sementara E. thrax pula merupakan ancaman utama Cavendish. Kupu-kupu pisang, E. thrax, didapati melengkapkan keseluruhan kitar hidupnya pada tumbuhan pisang yang bertindak sebagai perumah dengan serangga dewasa mendapatkan makanan daripada cecair dalam bunga tumbuhan tersebut. Hanya V. nigricornis dan Hypomeces squamosus dijumpai pada tumbuhan lain dan rumpai di sekeliling kawasan kajian. E. thrax tidak pernah dijumpai pada rumpai dan tumbuhan lain di kawasan kajian. Walau bagaimanapun, pada spesies Erionota lain, pemangsa serangga dan parasitoids kerap kali dijumpai pada Asystasia intrusa dan Ipomoea cairica. S. litura dan E. thrax merupakan serangga perosak utama tumbuhan pisang yang berusia 1–5 bulan. A. intrusa pula bertindak sebagai rumpai perumah yang penting untuk beberapa spesies semut, lebah dan Lepidoptera selain E. thrax.

Item Type:

Journal

Additional Information:

The management of Synergy Farm Sdn. Bhd., Pulau Pinang, Malaysia for permission to carry out the research in the banana plantations.

Keywords:

Colonization Dynamics, Banana Phenology, Folivorous Insects, Weeds, bananas, locusts, Valanga nigricornis

Subjects:

Q Science, Computer Science

ID Code:

6649