Oil palm crop protection mission, GOPDC (Ghana), 9 to 20 April 2001

The phytosanitary situation at the Kwae oil palm plantation is very worrying, but not yet alarming. Numerous small Coelaenomenodera minuta foci are occuring in most plots, especially in the bottomlands that remain humid throughout the year. As Evisect S is no longer manufactured, an equivalent product, Padan (Cartap) has been used, but hot-fogging results with this product are not at all satisfactory. We therefore recommend no longer using Padan for hot-fogging and going back to Unden, which is fortunately formulated in Ghana in liquid form at the right concentration (200 g a.i./litre), which greatly facilitates its use. Thus, the chemical treatments carried out at the beginning of the year have not been effective due to Padan. Consequently, moderate to serious defoliation can be seen on around fifty hectares. Phytosanitary monitoring of the nucleus estate, smallholders and outgrowers has been reorganized, making optimum use of monitoring teams, and creating a specialized team for nighttime treatments by hot-fogging. The first insecticide tests in large Filtis + Percale sleeves have begun at Kwae with a biological product: Spinosad. It has been shown that aqueous spraying of this insecticide on C. lameensis adults is very effective but quite slow acting. However, hot-fogging of this product in crude or refined palm oil using a Pulsfog K22/0 did not give conclusive results, suggesting that the active ingredient is destroyed at 60°C, the temperature reached as it passes through the hot gasses. We therefore recommend testing the K3-Bio Pulsfog model, with which the product only reaches 30°C through the injection of additional water. (Résumé d'auteur