The Potential of Ethyl Acetate As Substitute Attractant for Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus spp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Badrulhadza Amzah¹ & Razali Baki²

1. Malaysia Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), Persiaran MARDI-UPM, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
2. CABI Southeast and East Asia, Persiaran MARDI-UPM, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Abstract: Red palm weevils (RPW), Rhynchophorus vulneratus and R. ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) have been reported as main pests of coconut in Malaysia. These pests are currently managed using integrated control approaches and one of them is by using pheromone traps. Ethyl acetate (EtAc) has the potential to increase the efficiency of the pheromone traps and need to be further evaluated. A study was conducted on coconut plantation areas in Mersing, Johor to evaluate the effectiveness of EtAc in attracting RPW. A total of 20 traps from five treatments were set up from the beginning of March 2017 until early of July 2017. Results showed that the treatments with the combination of pheromone lure and EtAc (T1 and T2) can increase the number of captured weevils into the traps (F=3.9, df=4, p=0.01). Addition of food bait also help in increasing the effectiveness of the trap. The results also showed that the red palm weevil population in Mersing area was low as not many beetles were caught in the traps throughout the study period. Due to the high volatility of EtAc, its dispenser need to be improved so that the semiochemical can be sustained longer to prolong the attractant effect. EtAc can play an important role in the RPW baited pheromone traps that is suited with hot and humid climatic conditions of Malaysia.

Keywords: Coconut pests, Rhynchophorous, pheromone trapping, ethyl acetate, attractant.

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