Mass Rearing of Haplaxius crudus (Hemiptera: Cixiidae), an Important Insect Pest in the Palm Oil Industry of Colombia

Abstract

The palm leafhopper, Haplaxius crudus (Van Duzee) (Hemiptera: Cixiidae), is a vector of the pathogen that causes the lethal wilt disease in oil palm in Colombia. The development of a methodology for mass rearing of this insect is required to study its biology, behavior, population control, and to determine the causal agent of the lethal wilt disease. The experiment was carried out in Colombia, at the Research Experimental Center "Palmar de las Corocoras" of Cenipalma. The environmental conditions of the rearing unit during the study were 25.7±3.4°C, and 85±13% R. H. The mass production of H. crudus required the performance of five processes: 1) Planting and maintenance of Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. Mombasa grass, which hosts H. crudus nymphs, and of coconut palms (Cocos nucifera L.) var. dwarf yellow, to hold the adult insects; 2) Collecting nymphs in fields to create a breeding stock; 3) Infesting clumps of P. maximum grass with H. crudus eggs; 4) Maintaining the infested clumps, and 5) Trapping of emerging adults in cages. The time from the infestation of the clumps of grass, to the emergence of adults took 56.2±4.1 days. The rearing unit reached an average production of 3,145 adults per week (52.8% female and 47.2% male). The development of this rearing enables the production of enough H. crudus individuals to research lethal wilt, to mitigate the impact of this disease on the Colombian oil palm growing industry.