Optimization of Oryctes Baculovirus Dose for Efficient Disease Transmission in Oryctes rhinoceros
Coconut rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros L.) is the major constraint in production of coconut across the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. To suppress the pest population, baculovirus was released for the first time in 1987 at four locations in South Andaman, which brought down palm damage to insignificant levels within 48 months of release. However, large scale felling of old coconut palms to replace with fresh ones in large scale resulted in a fresh outbreak of coconut rhinoceros beetle. This paper reports the standardization of baculovirus dose. A dose of 130?g Crude virus preparation (CVP)/ beetle was found to be optimum to ensure maximum longevity coupled with low fecundity for efficient dispersal of the virus into natural population.