Skip to content

Red palm weevil

The red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) is a lethal stem borer of coconut, date palm and oil palm. It is among the most destructive global palm pests and is a serious problem in Indian coconut, oil palm and date plantings.

Identification and symptoms

Adults are large rust-red weevils 2.5-4 cm long with a curved snout and characteristic dark markings on the thorax. Females lay eggs in wounds and cracks on the trunk or crown. Larvae tunnel through the soft tissues, causing:

  • Holes on the trunk that ooze reddish-brown fluid with a fermented smell
  • Yellowing of the inner whorl of leaves
  • Tunnel galleries visible when bark is removed
  • Eventual collapse of the crown, often before external symptoms are obvious

Host crops and life cycle

The weevil attacks at least 17 palm species, with coconut (Coconut Ceylon Yellow, Coconut Kerala Bondam Dwarf), date palm and oil palm being the principal commercial hosts. Life cycle takes about 2-4 months under favourable conditions; multiple overlapping generations occur per year in warm climates.

Damage and economic impact

A single infestation can kill a productive palm because larval tunnelling destroys the growing point. Once the crown collapses, the palm cannot be saved. Heavy outbreaks reduce coconut and oil-palm yields and threaten the husk supply to the coir industry (Coir Cocopeat Industry).

Management

ICAR-CPCRI's integrated management package combines:

  • Sanitation: removal and destruction of dead or infested palms; avoiding mechanical injuries that attract egg-laying females.
  • Trapping: food-baited (sugarcane molasses or fermented coconut sap) and pheromone-baited bucket traps placed 1-2 traps per acre in hot spots.
  • Cultural: leaf-axil filling with sand/oil cakes and prophylactic agronomic measures during young-palm stages.
  • Chemical: in confirmed infestations, root feeding of monocrotophos or trunk injection of approved insecticides as part of an IPM programme.

The package is generally deployed in parallel with rhinoceros beetle (Rhinoceros Beetle Palm Pest) management, since the two pests often co-occur and rhinoceros-beetle wounds provide entry points for red palm weevil.

See also: Rhinoceros Beetle Palm Pest, Coconut Ceylon Yellow, Coconut Kerala Bondam Dwarf, Coir Cocopeat Industry.

References

  1. Red Palm Weevil in Coconut. ICAR-CPCRI.
  2. Bioecology and management of Red Palm Weevil on coconut. Agricultural Reviews, ARCC.