coconut Experts Seek
pp. 31-33 · Read in the full issue
[?]G And
[?]St Dept.
coconut Experts Seek Clues in P-NG
VO years ago, when coconut plantations in the Gasmata district of New Britain were ig eaten out by Promecotheca (a miner), alarmed planters sug ed that the services of a Hawaii jrt, Dr. J. L. Gressitt, be enlisted, r. Gressitt arrived in New Guinea Harch, 1956 —but fortunately for few plantations directly involved.
Promecotheca outbreak has just it righted itself in the interval — abit with this particular pest, pparently Dr. Gressitt’s visit is directed entirely to the Pro otheca pest—according to the ial Moresby handout on the sub he is making a survey for the lop Museum under a grant from National Science Foundation will collect all types of insects, ever, he will also do a 2 months ey for the P-NG Department Agriculture on coconut pests Tally. He will spend three or months in the Territory and go on to the BSIP. i is an expert on rhinoceros le pest of coconuts, also—a re of his work in this field was ished some years ago in PIM. tien the Promecotheca outbreak rred in 1953-54, some members le New Guinea Planters’ Assn, ested that a fund be started to ? Dr. Gressitt to NG, and some tions were promised. Apparently fund was not proceeded with, iver.
Bug-Hunter from BSIP
entomologist, Mr. E. S. Brown, >n loan to the British Solomon islands Protectorate from the nonwealth Institute of En logy, London, spent several s in Papua and New Guinea in h. He is investigating that mial BSIP coconut problem— nutfall—and although the pest causes this is not present in rerritory, a related bug is. Mr. n is interested in the NG bug.
Control of Pest With
Predators
IE very interesting data about the manner in which the scientists of the Department of ulture are combating the in tests of Papua and New Guinea been supplied to one of our sentatives by Mr. G. S. Dun, s the Department’s Senior En ogist, with headquarters at fat, near Rabaul.
Dun says that the situation in 3n to the Promecotheca pest— i has been attacking coconuts e western end of New Britain
—is improving now. The Depart ment has engaged the services o Dr. Gressitt for a period, to examim the problem—it is hoped that thl the problem.
Mr. Dun says that production s Linga Linga is approaching normae and that the palms at Lindenhavee (which were badly affected for time) should presently be in fuu bearing again.
MR. DUN made an interesting comment on the search for snail predator, Ganaxis, witt which to attack Giant Snail pest introduced into New Guinea in wai. time by the Japanese. When he ws in Africa collecting the Zanzibs wasp, Mr. Dun sought specimens o Ganaxis, but had no success.
The country had . just experience an 8-months’ drought, and unde! such conditions the snail Ganax a buries itself 4 inches deep in tW earth. The entomologists in Kenjj thereupon agreed to try and collet Ganaxis for Mr, Dun when condf tions improved. But, since ther one leading official was called u for anti-Mau Mau service, and then have been two bad years in whio the Chief Entomologist there coulj find only three specimens of Ganaxt and one specimen of another pre datory snail. Now, the entomologiii is due to go on long leave and wr not be able to collect again untl the wet season of 1957, In view of these disappointment!
Mr, Dun has been trying to get th predator snail from American coc lecting agencies—but without succes The Americans themselves hay islands infes f ed with the Jap-intro duced Giant Snail, and themselvr want all the Ganaxis they can pro Cuba.”
“However,” says Mr. Dun, patientl “I now am trying to get a snail prr dator, of another species, fro; Cuba.
“rpHE Zanzibar Scoliid, which bu 1 comes parasitic upon the Rhin«j ceros Beetle, and which I ser back from Zanzibar to New Guinej in 1954, now has become extremes well established at the Vunapojt Mission, at Kokopo.” said Mr. Dut “I now am hopeful that shortly shall be able to collect some of thes and distribute them to other areis affected by the Rhino Beetle. Froc my observations, so far, I gathr that the Scoliid is as abundau here now, after three years, as it in Western Samoa, after about ! years.
“The Mauritius Scoliid, ArycU phaga, did not become establisha here, although the Department! entomologist, Mr. J. R. William kindly sent me some 1,100 female! which arrived in very good shan He sent these in return for som Sugar Cane Borer Ichneuman pan sites I was able to collect for hiri in the Karavat area.”
As part of the campaign agaim the Asian Rhinoceros Beet
ictes ) in New Guinea, Mr. Dun iduced some predators of the m beetles’ larvae which he Lned from Fiji and West Indies, they are making very slow pro > in New Guinea, for some >n. appears that there is another id parasite of the Oryctes io Beetle, which has been found issam and which attacks the ie in rotting tree trunks. This i be the solution of our problem ” said Mr. Dun.