The document discusses the banana stem borer pest, Odoiporus longicollis. It provides details about the banana plant and lists some major pests that affect bananas. It then focuses on the stem borer pest, describing its systematic position, identification marks, life cycle, nature of damage, and control measures. The stem borer's larvae bore into and tunnel through the pseudostem of banana plants, weakening the stem and reducing yields. Cultural, chemical, and biological control methods are recommended to manage the pest population and minimize damage.

1. Dr. Arun B. Sawarkar
BP Arts, SMA Science & KKC Commerce College,
Chalisgaon, Dist- Jalgaon (MS)
Pest of Banana
Agriculture Pest
E-content developed by Dr. Arun Sawarkar

2. Today’s discussion
a) About Banana plant
b)Pest of banana
c) About Odoiporus longicollis
 Systematic position
 Marks of identification
 Life cycle
 Nature of damage
 Control measures

3. a) About Banana (Musa paradisiaca)
 There are more than 1000 varieties of bananas produced and consumed in
the world.
 Banana is a very popular fruit due to its low price, year round availability,
high nutritive and medicinal value.
 In India, Maharashtra is the highest banana producer followed by Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Assam.
 Bananas are mainly produced in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
 It has also good export potential. Total annual world production is
estimated at 86 million tonnes of fruits.
 Globally, India leads the highest banana producer (14.2 million tonnes
annually). Other leading producers are Brazil, Ecuador, China, Phillipines,
Indonesia, Costarica, Mexico, Thailand and Colombia.

4.  Odoiporus longicollis (Banana stem borer) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
 Cosmopolites sordidus (Banana weevil) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
 Dacus dorsalis (Oriental fruitfly) (Diptera: Tephritidae)
 Nadostoma subcostatum (Leaf beetle) (Coleoptera: Eumolpidae)
 Pentalonia nigronervosa (Banana aphid) (Hemiptera: Aphididae)
b) Pest of Banana
• Tropical Race 4 (TR4) of the Fusarium wilt fungus is a serious threat to banana production
in Asia.
• TR4 is a soil pathogen that attacks the roots of the plant and blocks its vascular system.

5. C) About Odoiporus longicollis (Pseudostem borer)
 The banana stem weevil or banana pseudostem borer, Odoiporus
longicollis Oliver is one of the most important key pests of banana.
 This pest is originated in South and South East Asia, and widely
spread in India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
 The damage is caused by both the grubs and the adults. During
feeding, the grubs forms tunnels in the growing shoots and
rhizome, the plants become weak.
 It is estimated that the stem weevil causes 10-90% yield loss.

6. a) Systematic Position:
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Curculionidae
Genus: Odoiporus
Species: longicollis
Odoiporus longicollis (Pseudostem borer)
b) Host plants
Banana
https://www.wikidata.org/wik
i/Q16136425

7. c) Marks of Identification
 Larva:
 It is creamy white, stout, soft, fleshy and legless.
 It has red heads with biting and chewing mouth parts.
 Adult:
 It is shiny red or black-coloured and measure 23-39 mm.
 It has elongated and slightly curved snout or rostrum.
 Its elytra do not cover the abdomen completely.
 It is nocturnal in habit and strong fliers move from plant
to plant.
All life stages of the weevil are present throughout the year in
the infested plant.
http://nrcb.res.in/album/Pseudostem%20
weevil%2C%20Odoiporus%20longicollis/in
dex.html
(Grub)
https://www.wikidata.o
rg/wiki/Q16136425

8. d) Life cycle
 A female can lay about 15-21 eggs at the rate of one egg per day
throughout the year.
 The eggs are laid in small burrow in the rhizome or within leaf-sheaths.
 Eggs are cream in colour and cylindrical in shape.
 After the incubation period of 3 to 8 days, emerged fleshy, yellowish
white and apodous larvae.
 The grubs bore the pseudostem, continuously feeds and forms tunnels.
 The grubs pass through five instars.
 The fifth instar grubs enters a non-feeding pupal stage and form
cocoon.
 The adults after emergence, feeds on underground part of the plant and
then visit to the growing shoot.
(15-21)E G(5)
A
5-6
Days
25
Days
P
3-8
Days

9. e) Nature of damage
 The damage is caused by both the grubs and the adults.
 The adults feed during night on the pseudostems while the grubs on the rhizome
whose growing parts may get destroyed.
 Due to extensive tunneling by grubs, initiates secondary infection of pathogens and
cause rotting of stem which emitted foul smell.
 After flowering, the fruits do not develop properly or shows premature ripening of the
bunch.
 The infestation inhibits the translocation of nutrients and water,
growth and development and may cause nematode infestation.
 Weakening of the stem by tunneling may result in breakage by
wind or inability to bear the weight of the maturing bunch.
 It is estimated that the stem weevil causes 10-90% yield loss.

10. https://farmbizafrica.com/profit-
boosters/315-researchers-banana-pseudo-
stems-are-rich-source-of-quality-fibres
https://plantix.net/en/library/plant-diseases/600032/pseudostem-
weevil
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-
nadu/stem-borer-a-nightmare-for-banana-
farmers/article5104662.ece
https://www.sciencesource.com/archive/Banana-
Pseudostem-Section-SS21172249.html

11. f) Control measures
i) Cultural methods
1. Use of uninfested suckers for plantation.
2. Suckers should be pruned periodically.
3. The infested pseudostems and dry leaves must be removed from the field and destroyed.
4. After harvest, banana stumps must be removed and destroyed from the field.
ii) Chemical methods
1. Application of 0.2% dialdrin, 0.04% endosulfan, 0.1% carbaryl or 0.05% monocrotophos is
effective in controlling the pests.
2. Fumigation by using Celphos (aluminium phosphide tablets.
iii) Biological methods
1. Histerid beetle was found feeding on larvae.
2. A fungus Metarrhizium sp. caused mortalities in larvae of weevils.
iv) Use of pheromones to trap and destroy weevil populations also effective.

12.  Modern Entomology by DB Tembhare, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai.
 A Text book of Applied Entomology (Vol. II) by KP Srivastava, Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana.
 Agricultural pests of India and South-East Asia by AS Atwal, Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana.
 Biology, Ecology and Control of Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on Banana from
Kolhapur region, India. PV Khairmode, TV Sathe and AS Desai, Biolife, 2015: 3(1):16-20.
 A review on the biology, distribution and management of Odoiporus longicollis Oliver
(Banana Pseudostem Weevil). JU Krishnan, CA Jayaprakas and NR Lekshmi, Thai Journal of
Agricultural Science, 2015, 48(4): 207-215.
 The banana stem weevil, Odoiporus longicollis. B. Padmanaban and S. Sathiamoorthy,
International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain, Parc Scientifique Agropolis II,
34397 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
Acknowledgment

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