Air-War On Coconut Pests

A coconut plantation, where the palms grow upwards of 20 feet tall, is not a good subject for insecticiding—unless the spraying can be done from the air. For the first time in the South Pacific, this was done recently on Ura Plantation, Taveuni, Fiji, where the trouble is an infestation of stick-insects, or mimimata, as they are called locally. These pests, while not so destructive as rhinoceros beetles, attack and skeletonise the fronds of the palms, until in extreme cases only the ribs are left. Anything that destroys the fronds weakens the tree and interferes with its bearing The aerial spraying on Ura Plantation was carried out by Air Viti Ltd with a Tiger Moth of its own and a Cessna amphibian chartered from New Zealand. The experiment was under the supervision of the Fiji Government entomologist, Mr. B. A. O'Connor.

Insecticide was pumped out in flight by a wind-driven fan fitted beneath the fuselage Although the weather was not good for spraying, a 95 per cent. kill was claimed. -Photo by Rob Wright, Fiji PRO.