Tree injection method to manage coconut pests with special reference to blackheaded caterpillar, Opisina arenosella and mite, Aceria guerreronis - A Review

The injection of exogenous materials into plant system for pest management is being followed since early years of twentieth century. Numerous studies on the tree injection have been done to explore the possibility of injecting chemicals into trees. Root feeding, stem or trunk injection have received significant results of nutrient and pest or disease management across the world. Owing to the practical difficulties in foliar application of pesticides in tall trees like coconut, tree injection became an alternative mode of pesticide delivery to target site. Although tree injections have some limitations, they also have some specific advantages over other methods of management such as minimized use of water and chemicals, reduction in the labour cost, effective management of target pests and environmental safety as non-target organisms can be protected from the effect of pesticides. Serious efforts are needed to standardizing of the technologies of administration for various chemicals under diverse environmental conditions to make it easy and ultimate for specify host plant / nutrient condition which cannot be properly addressed by other methods.