![]() ![]() In the absence of effective control measures, the beetle has a devastating effect and can cause a palm mortality of 50% or more. CRB larvae feed and develop on the rotting stems, pupating and emerging as adults to continue the damage cycle ( Figure 1). ![]() As the palm decays, the rotting plant material is an excellent breeding source for females and larval development. In cases of severe attack, beetles will damage the meristem and kill the palm within a few months. Adult beetles cause damage by mining into the emerging spear and feeding on sap from the soft developing leaf tissues. It has also been reported to damage more than 30 different genera of plants, including sugarcane, pineapple, pandanus, banana, taro, cycads, and agaves. CRB has become a major pest of coconut ( Cocos nucifera) and oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis) through the invasion of islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB: Oryctes rhinoceros L.) is endemic to South/South East Asia, where it has a close association with palm trees for feeding and breeding and can be a pest of cultivated palms when beetle numbers are high. Recommendations are provided to modify the IPM programme to enhance the sustainable control of CRB and support the ongoing coconut replantation program promoted by the Samoan government. The lessons from Samoa, with its long history of containment and management of CRB, are applicable to more recent invasion sites. We also present results from a recent study conducted in 2020 on the island of Upolu to define the current status of the CRB population and its BCA, OrNV. ![]() Therefore, it is timely to review the history of CRB in Samoa and summarize experiences in development of an integrated pest management (IPM) system limiting the impact of the pest. Changing economic and social conditions in Samoa and other islands of the Pacific require a re-evaluation of the threat of CRB to coconut production to suggest how the IPM system may be modified to meet future needs. The biocontrol release was very successful and became the prime example of “classical biological control” of an insect pest by a virus. Various pest management strategies were attempted but had limited success until the introduction of a biological control agent (BCA), Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV), during the late 1960s and early 1970s. An intensive control operation was initiated, but the beetle could not be eliminated. The exotic pest from Asia became the principal pest of coconut palms in Samoa and, from this first point of invasion, spread to several surrounding countries in the South-West Pacific Ocean. It is now more than 100 years since the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB: Oryctes rhinoceros L.) was first detected in the Pacific Island state of Samoa. ![]()
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