TITLE:
Impact of Progressive Pruning on Leaf Miner (Coelaenomenodera lameensis) Incidence and the Yield of Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis) —A Case Study of Benso Oil Palm Plantation Plc, Adum Banso Estate, Ghana
AUTHORS:
Isaac Addo, Emmanuel Ackah, Samuel Avaala Awonnea, Kwasi Baah Ofori, Victor Tetteh Zutah, Geoffrey Smith Oduro, Esther Fobi Donkor, Kwadwo Gyasi Santo
KEYWORDS:
Coelaenomenodera lameensis, Elaeis spp, Leaf Miner, Oil Palm, Progressive Pruning, Fresh Fruit Bunch, BOPP. Plc
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.14 No.3,
March
31,
2023
ABSTRACT: The oil palm leaf miner, Coelaenomenodera lameensis, is currently
the most destructive pest of oil palm in Ghana and other African oil palm
growing countries, causing significant losses in fresh fruit bunch yield.
Progressive pruning is an oil palm pruning method in which pruning is done at
the same time as fresh fruit bunch harvesting. This study evaluated the impact
of progressive pruning on leaf miner population in oil palm and how these two
factors (leaf miner and progressive pruning) affect the yield of oil palm at
the Benso Oil Palm Plantation Public listed company (BOPP. Plc). Five distinct
blocks in the plantation were selected for observations on fronds at various
ranks (33, 25, or 17) based on the degree of defoliation by counting the number
of pests on leaflets at different phases of insect development. Fronds from
selected plots were sampled in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The size of plots used for the study ranged between 19
to 45 hectares. A minimum of 78 fronds were evenly cut from each block for pest
count depending on the block size. Secondary data on annual yields of fresh
fruit bunches before and after the introduction of progressive pruning were
also obtained from BOPP. Plc records from 2011-2020. The results from the
analyzed data on leaf miner index before and after the introduction of
progressive pruning showed that progressive pruning has, to a high extent (64%
to 36%), reduced leaf miner populations in the plantation. Paired t-test on
fresh fruit bunch yield has also revealed a significant
(p , however,
revealed a lower rate of yield loss (3.05 to 2.70 tonnes)
to leaf miner infestation after the introduction of progressive pruning. The
study recommends progressive pruning as a key cultural practice for improving
crop yields in leaf miner prone plantations.