Version 1
: Received: 11 May 2023 / Approved: 12 May 2023 / Online: 12 May 2023 (15:04:41 CEST)
How to cite:
Akkarajeerawat, S.; Chauvanasmith, T.; Keatsirisart, C.; Bhu-iam, W. The Effects of Biological and Physical Factors on Controlling the Destructive Palm Pest Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier. Preprints2023, 2023050964. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.0964.v1
Akkarajeerawat, S.; Chauvanasmith, T.; Keatsirisart, C.; Bhu-iam, W. The Effects of Biological and Physical Factors on Controlling the Destructive Palm Pest Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier. Preprints 2023, 2023050964. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.0964.v1
Akkarajeerawat, S.; Chauvanasmith, T.; Keatsirisart, C.; Bhu-iam, W. The Effects of Biological and Physical Factors on Controlling the Destructive Palm Pest Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier. Preprints2023, 2023050964. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.0964.v1
APA Style
Akkarajeerawat, S., Chauvanasmith, T., Keatsirisart, C., & Bhu-iam, W. (2023). The Effects of Biological and Physical Factors on Controlling the Destructive Palm Pest <em>Rhynchophorus ferrugineus</em> Olivier. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.0964.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Akkarajeerawat, S., Chanan Keatsirisart and Wanida Bhu-iam. 2023 "The Effects of Biological and Physical Factors on Controlling the Destructive Palm Pest <em>Rhynchophorus ferrugineus</em> Olivier" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.0964.v1
Abstract
Red palm weevils (RPWs) are a major pest to coconut and palm trees, causing significant economic losses in many countries. The current control method involves using insecticides, which are unsustainable and environmentally damaging. Thus, it is necessary to develop an eco-friendly and sustainable approach to mitigate the RPW problem. Our studies have revealed that feeding RPWs with food containing specific herbs can affect the weevils' mutualistic relationship with gut microbiota or their growth hormones, resulting in a notable reduction in the metamorphosis rate at the pupation stage. For instance, the addition of Kra-jeab (a roselle Hibiscus sabdariffa) and Kra-pao (a holy basil Ocimum tenuiflorum) led to a reduction of 76.7% and 75.6%, respectively, in the metamorphosis rate, while combining the two herbs resulted in a higher reduction rate of 86.7%. In addition to these findings, altering their pupation nature by reducing the fiber length used in RPW feed to less than 1 centimeter can stop the weevil’s pupation entirely. These findings demonstrate the potential application of biological and physical factors to reduce RPWs' metamorphosis rate and control their destructive impact on palm industries, thus providing a promising solution for the conflict between palm and insect farmers.
Keywords
red palm weevil; pest invasion; metamorphosis; gut microbiota; growth hormone; pupation nature
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Insect Science
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
