Root grub(Leucopholis burmeisteri)

Symptoms

• Root grubs or "white‟ grubs occur mostly in sandy and sandy loam soils.
• They are voracious feeders on roots. Adult beetles emerge during May-June few days after receipt of pre-monsoon showers
• In severe cases, the bole of the palm is also eaten up. They feed on roots of intercrops like banana, cocoa, yams etc.
• In oilpalm seedlings, the feeding on roots results in dropping and drying of leaves
• Affected seedlings come off easily since the entire root system is usually eaten up.
  
• Palms with few years of infestation show a sickly appearance, with yellowing of leaves, tapering of stem, and reduction in yield.

Management

• Fill the seedling bags with the soil free from root grub infestation
• Exposure of grubs by ploughing or digging the soil during pre and post monsoon periods Mechanical control:
• Collection and destruction of beetles during their emergence from the soil in the evening hours
• Install light traps @ 1 trap/acre and operate between 6 pm and 10 pm Biological control: