Current Research Journal of Biological Sciences 2(3): 168-172, 2010
ISSN: 2041-0778
© M axwell Scientific Organization, 2010
Submitted Date: February 13, 2010
Accepted Date: March 01, 2010
Published Date: May 20, 2010
The Susceptibility of Some Oil Palm Elaeis guineensis Jacq Progenies to
Coelaenomenodera lameensis Berti and Mariau,
(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
1
1
S.O.N. D imkpa, 2 S.O. Appiah, 3 K. Afreh-Nuamah and 2 G.K. Yawson
Crop / Soil Sci., Rivers S tate University of Science and Techno logy , Nigeria
2
Oil Palm Research Institute (CSIR), Kade, Ghana
3
African Regional Po stgraduate Programm e in Insect Science (A RPPIS),
University of Ghana Legon
Abstract: Damage by the oil palm leaf miner C. lam eensis has been observed in all oil palm growing countries
in Africa causing w ide spread d efoliation and result to considerable reduction in the yield of fresh fruit bunches
(ffb). The understanding o f the susceptibility levels of different oil palm progenies to the oil palm leaf miner
C. lameensis becom e highly imp erative in the deve lopmen t and incorporation of host plant resistance in the
integrated pest management strategy for the management of the oil palm leaf miner. By means of no-choice
destructive sampling field experimen ts, differences in the population levels of the various stages of
development and the asse ssmen t of damag e caused by larval feeding were stud ied. All the five proge nies were
avera gely susce ptible to damage caused by the larvae of C. lameensis. No sign ificant differences (P>05) we re
observed in the assessed parameters such as percentage egg laid, adult survival in cages, egg hatching, larval
and pupal survival on the progenies. However, progeny D supported the least mean population (45.9%) of the
larva, pupa and adults of C. lam eensis with consequent slight damage of 25%. Progenies C, B and A followed
in that order. Progeny E supported the hig hest m ean population of the insect (54%) and suffered the highest
damage of 37.4% . The slight variation observed suggests potential differences in the genetic make up of the
palm. This can create an opportunity for incorporating host plant resistance for the development of an
integrated ma nagem ent strategy for the oil palm leaf miner.
Key words: Coelaen omenodera lameensis Berti and M ariau, Elaeis guine ensis Jacq, proge nies, susceptibility
INTRODUCTION
The oil palm leaf miner, Coelaenom enodera
l a m e e n s i s B e r t i a n d M a r i a u , (C o l e o p t e ra n :
C h r y s o m e l i d a e , H i s p i n a e) form erly ca lled
Coelaenom enodera minuta Uhman n, is end emic in West
Africa (Shearing, 1964; Mariau, 1976; H artley, 1988). It
is the most important insect pest of the oil palm in We st
and Central Africa causing widespread defoliation and
loss in yield of fresh fruit bunches (Mariau and Lecoustre,
2000).
The outbre ak of the oil palm leaf m iner is variable
and can spread ov er hun dreds of hectares o f oil palm
(Morin and Mariau, 1971). Limited control has been
achieved by the use of phytosanitary surveillance, cultural
and biological control (Cotterell, 1925; Agwu et al., 1986;
Timti, 1991). However, the main method of control of the
oil palm leaf miner has been by the use of insecticides
(Lecoustre and Refye, 1984). The incorporation of host
plant resistance in an integrated pest management strategy
for the management of the oil palm leaf miner may reduce
pesticide use.
Host plant can affect the colonizing insect population
by influencing the initial arrival, colonization, rate of
oviposition, development of insect p opulation, as well as
the damage inflicted and crop loss (Van Emden, 1973;
Dent, 1991). Th ese param eters are used to measure plant
resistance to insect pests. V ariation in the su sceptibility
levels of many plant species has been exploited in the
selection of pest-resistant crop cultivars in many plant
families (Havlickova, 1993; Agraw al et al., 1991 ; Ciepala
and Sempruch, 1999).
The use of host plant resistance in oil palm progenies
that can withstand infestation to the oil palm leaf miner is
however yet to be exp loited. O bserv ations mad e in Cote
d’Ivoire, indicate that differences exist in the
susceptibility of palms to the p est, C lameensis (Dimkpa,
2004). The South American pa lm, E. Oleifera and the
hybrid between E. Oleifera and E. guineensis were
reported to be less susceptible to C. lameensis than
E. guineensis (Philippe, 1977). A high variation in the
fecundity of C. lameensis has also been observed on
different oil palm plantations in C ote d’Ivoire (Mariau and
Lecoustre, 2000). In an earlier study (Appiah et al.,
Corresponding Author: S.O.N. Dimkpa, Crop / Soil Sci., Rivers State University of Science and Technology, N igeria
168
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 2(3): 168-172, 2010
C
C
2007), it was observed that there were slight v ariations in
the ability of oil palm progenies to support the
development and growth of the oil palm leaf miner,
C. lameensis.
This study was therefore undertaken to assess the
relative susceptibility of five oil palm progenies to
infestation by C. lameensis on the oil palm plantation of
the CSIR-OPRI at Kusi, Ghana.
Destructive sampling had to be employed because of
the mining behaviour of the pest. The larval, pupal and
internal adult stages (immature adults) are spent
exclu sively in the mines in between the lower and upper
epidermal tissues of the lea flets (Morin and Mariau, 1970;
Appiah et al., 2007). The number of eggs laid, the number
of hatched eggs and the number of larvae survived were
examined and counted by dissecting the sam pled leaflets
under a microscope in the laboratory on the 6 th , 21st and
65 th day (after adult removal from the cages) respectively.
Emerged external adults in the cages (indicating the
number of pupae that survived) were counted in the field
on day 79 after adult removal in the 4 th experiment. The
percentage larval m ortality was also recorded on each
progeny. The survival of the adult insects (5 c ouples) in
the cages during the 6 days exclusive period was also
recorded. Damage caused by C. lameensis’ larval feeding
on the progenies was assessed at the end of the
experimen t. The total undamaged leaf area and the
damaged leaf area (larval galleries after pupation) on the
leaflets were measured with measuring tape. Leaf area
was calculated by the product of length and greatest width
multiplied by a factor (0.55) to correct for the shape
(Hardon et al., 1969). The mean percentage leaf damaged
on each progeny w as calculated and larval damage was
assessed based on a damage scale listed below.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
No-choice destructive sampling experiments were set
up to study the relative susceptibility of five oil palm
progenies to C. lameensis in the plantation of the O il Palm
Research Institute, G hana from October 2 003 to Ap ril
2004
Five oil palm progenies coded A to E (Progeny A: K4
538D x 851.807P, Progeny B: K1 3747D x K3 926P,
Progeny C: K4 787D x 851.805, Progeny D: K1 374D x
K3 880P (STC) and Progeny E: K1 374D x K 3 879T)
were used. These were planted on 13 th May, 1994 at
triangular spacing. There were four replications with 12
palms per plot. One palm was selected at random from
each of the plots of the different progenies for study.
Thus altogether twenty palms were used.
On each selected palm, a rectan gular filtis (polyam ide
mesh of size 600 microns) sleeve cage of about 60cm x
15cm size, was hung using cotton twine on a selected
frond (rank 17-25). Three uninfested (eg g-free) leaflets
from the selecte d frond were cleaned with wet cotton
wool and enclosed in the cage. Matured adult insects of
the oil palm leaf miner of indeterminate age were
collected from other fields on the OPRI plantation in the
morning (7-10am) by hand and sexed. Sexing was based
on the struc ture of the repro ductive organ on the ventral
side of the abdomen (Morin and Mariau, 1971). Tensexed adult insect consisting of equal number of males
and females were introduced into each sealed cage
through a Velcro slit opening and closed. The three
leaflets enclosed in the cage co nstituted their food to
support egg laying. T he ad ult C. lameensis were caged
for a period of 6 days to ensure maximum egg laying.
On the 6 th day, the cage C. lameensis were removed
from the cage through the slit opening. Eggs laid on the
leaflets were immediately counted and allowed to develop
in the cage. At predetermined intervals of 21,65 and 79
days after the remova l of the adult insects, the cage s were
removed and the 3 leaflets in each cage were cut and
examined under the microscope in the laboratory.
Destructive sampling was condu cted four times for each
of the following developm ent stages:
C
C
Larval survival (indicated by the number of pupae)
Pupal survival (indica ted by the numbe r of external
adults)
Slight damage
Average damage
Extensive damage
Very extensive damage
-
0 - 30%
> 30 - < 45%
> 45 - < 65%
> 65%
Damage caused by larval mining was assessed using
the above damage scale. Progeny susceptibility was
determined based on the mean of the percentages
(cumulative response) of all the parameters tested.
Statistical Analysis: Data were converted to percentages
and transformed using arcsine transformation. The
transformed data were analysed by A nalysis of Variance
(ANOVA) using the statistical package for agricultural
sciences Genstat Software V ersion 5 Release 3.2 (Genstat,
1995). The Least Significant D ifference (LSD) was
used to separate the mea ns at (P= 0.05).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Ad ult survival in cage: There were no significant
differences in the percentage surviva l of adult
C. lameensis on the five progenies (p>0.05).
However,progeny E supported the highest number adult
Oviposition (number of eggs laid)
Egg viability or hatchability (indicated by the number
of 1 st stage larvae)
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Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 2(3): 168-172, 2010
Table 1: Mean egg laid, percentage adult survival in cages, egg hatching, larvae and pupae survival on the five oil palm progenies
Progenies
% adult Survival in Cage
M ean egg laid
% hatc hab ility
% larvae survival
% pu pae survival
A
87.5 (9.33)
90.0 (9.36)
73.2 (63.6)
17.5 (25.4)
9.60 (15.7)
B
90.0 (9.48)
89.0 (8.86)
71.5 (60.6)
23.4 (27.0)
10.5 (18.3)
C
80.0 (8.98)
83.0 (9.07)
67.6 (45.9)
11.4 (18.8)
9.80 (17.9)
D
82.2 (9.05)
84.0 (8.84)
68.2 (56.6)
11.3 (18.6)
4.60 (12.6)
E
97.5 (9.88)
84.0 (8.44)
72.0 (31.1)
29.9 (31.1)
8.60 (15.1)
LSD V alues
1.63
4.58
22.27
7.85
9.40
LSD (P>0.05)
NS
NS
NS
NS
NS
NS: Not significant
a
: Transformed means are in bracket
survival of 97.5% followed by progenies B (90 %), A
(87.5% ), D (82.2%) and C (80%) (Table 1). High survival
of the leaf miner on the progenies in the cage as indicated
by the above results may imply that, the cage effect was
uniformly very neglegible.
pupation which was uniformly low on all the progenies
studied. The highest larval survival was on progeny
E (29.9% ). Larval mortality (which is 100% minus
percentage pupation) ranged from 70.1 to 88.7% . This
sugg ests a greater level of antixenosis for larval feeding
or a high degree of antibiosis exhibited by the different
progenies. Van Emden (1973) reported that eggs of
insects on plant and newly hatched larvae may be killed
by the host plant through a necrotic (hypersensitive)
action, thus decreasing the average mortality of 46.6% of
the small larval stage of C. lameensis on E. guine ensis
and 89.1% on the hybrid of E. guineensis and E. oleifera.
He attributed this to a higher degree of necrotic effect
exhibited by the surrou nding leaf cells re sulting in death
by starvation or asphyxia.
Oviposition: The high est numb er of eggs was laid on
progeny A (90). Progenies B (89), E and D (84), and
C (83) followed in that order (Table 1). The slight
variations in oviposition on the progenies may be
attributed to the indeterminate ages of the adult females
used in the study. The num ber of eggs laid on the
progenies was not significantly different (p>0.05).
Leather (1988), Klingengberg and Spence (1997) reported
that age, size and weight of adult female insects and
allometric measurements such as hind tibia length (Carter
et al., 1991) strongly affect fecundity. The pest laid some
of its eggs on leaf spots on the leaflet, but eggs in such
spots failed to hatch. This indicates that the leaf miner
does not discriminate between oil palms of varying
quality during its egg laying. Marques et al. (1994)
observed similar beha viour in another chrysom elid beetle
Disonycha pluirligata which do es not discriminate
between Salix exigua plants of vary ing qu ality. Stowe
(1998) also reported the same beha viour in oviposition of
Pieris rapae on Brassica rapa.
Pupal survival (number of external adults): Pupal
survival to external adult showed no significant
differences (P>0.05 ). The low est percentage ad ult
emergence was recorded on progeny D (4.6%). Progeny
B supp orted the highest perc entage external adult of
C. lameensis that em erged during the period of study
(Table 1). The egg to pupal mortality (which is 100%
minus the pupal survival) was 89.5% on progeny B and
95.4% on progeny D, Van Emden (1973) reported that
once the population is established the host plant may
further resist the pest either by causing more mortality or
by restraining the development of the pest and the grow th
of its population.
Egg hatchability: Egg hatchability was uniform ly high in
all the progenies, ranging from an average of 73.2% on
progeny A, followed by prog enies E (72 %), B (71.5% ),
D (68.2% ) and to 67.6% on progeny C (Table 1). These
differences were not sign ificant. Egg m ortality (w hich is
100% minus egg hatchability) ranged from 26.8 and
32.4% on the oil palm progenies. Van Emden (1973)
observed about 50% mortality of the eggs laid by the leaf
miner Phytomyza rufipes Mg. on Brassica napus L. The
results of the present study confirm the work of Philippe
(1977) in Cote d’Ivoire who reported an average egg
mortality of 26.1 % o n E. guineensis and 39% on the
hybrid of E. guineensis and E. oleifera which were
unsuitable for the developm ent of Coelaenomenodera.
Dam age caused by the larvae: Leaf dam age d ue to
larval feeding on all the p rogenies w as not statistically
significant at P>05. However, progenies E (37.4%) and
A (31% ) showed averag e damage. Progenies C (25.3% ),
D (25%) and B (22.2%) showe d slight damage (Fig. 1).
The extent of leaf damage can be attributed to the leaf
physical characteristics as well as its biochemical
constituents. Kuma r (1984) reported that resistant
varieties are less damaged or less infested by the pest than
other varieties in the field under comparable
environmental conditions and stage of growth. More
damage due to larval feeding may suggest that the
progeny’s nutritional constituents are suitable for
sustained feedin g and contrib utes to increased
susceptibility to C. lam eensis.
Larval survival (num ber of pu pae): Progeny D
supported the lowest larval population of 11.3% (Table 1)
followed by C (11.4% ), A (17 .5% ), B (23.4% ). There was
no significant difference (p>0.05) in the percentage
170
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 2(3): 168-172, 2010
level, which can be developed further and incorporated
into integrated pest management strategy for sustainable
man agem ent of the pest.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work is part of an M.Phil research project of the
first author and was funded by the German Academic
Exchange Services (D AA D), under the African Regional
Postg raduate Programme in Insect Science (ARPPIS) and
with support by the Oil Palm Research Institute of the
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ghana. This
article is dedicated to late Fran cis Kofi Dzakey, the chief
entomological technician who died shortly after the
research.
Fig. 1: Percentage damage caused by larval mining on the
progenies
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