Red palm weevil incidence: Spatial pattern and implications in technology adoption

Abstract

<p>Red palm weevil (RPW) is one of the major fatal pests of coconut. Conventional extension approaches need to be refined for<br />achieving the desired outcome on adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies against RPW, especially among small<br />and marginal farming communities. The pattern of incidence, severity of infestation and age of palms are the factors motivating<br />farmers for adoption of IPM practices. Taking these into account, a technology delivery approach for RPW management was<br />evolved and implemented in the entire geographical extent of 520 ha area of Edava grama panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram<br />district of Kerala state, India. This approach involves farmer participatory surveillance and monitoring with technical facilitation<br />from research institutions which is a paradigm shift to community based area wide management strategies. Besides holdings’<br />profile, number of RPW infested/lost palms and GPS (i.e., latlong) coordinates of infested palms were recorded. The spatial<br />distribution pattern was analyzed using Indices of Dispersion (ID), Patchiness (IP) Cluster Frequency (ICF) and Mean Crowding<br />(IMC) at different cluster levels (i.e., holdings, administrative segments and grids). ESRI GIS software was used to depict geospatial<br />patterns of RPW infestation. Among 5410 coconut holdings, 18.7 per cent were having RPW infested palms. The pest incidence<br />in juvenile palms was significantly higher compared to adult palms. The distribution pattern of infested palms was observed to be<br />aggregated. Knowledge level of farmers regarding aspects of pest and management was below 10 per cent. The proposed<br />methodology of participatory data documentation resulted in rapid and reliable collection of data from large area with an additional<br />benefit of experiential learning for farmers in the locality.</p>