Insect-pests - Biology East Borneo

22 Insect Pests and Diseases of Major Plantation Species
fungus, Fusarium solani, invades the root system,
destroys the root hairs, the finer rootlets and the
bacterial nodules, and travels a short distance along
the stem, clogging vessels and tissues in the sapwood
(which develops pinkish brown stain) and stopping
the flow of sap to the crown and finally causing the
tree to die. Although this appears to be a serious
disease, no incidence of this disease has been reported
in Indonesia since the first episode in 1973. As
Dalbergia ssp.have been grown successfully in
Indonesia for a long time, more critical study is
needed on the differential susceptibility of D. sissoo
and D. latifolia to F. solani wilt.
4.7. Dipterocarpaceae
(Dipterocarps)
Indonesian common names: Meranti, Balau,
Sengkawang, etc.
Natural forests in Indonesia are dominated by
dipterocarps but they have not received much attention
as plantation species. Apart from experimental plantings
in West Java since the 1950s, most planting has been
enrichment planting of logged-over forests using
wildlings. There is renewed interest in dipterocarps and
plantations are being established, mainly in the provinces
of West, Central, East and South Kalimantan, South
Sumatra and Jambi (see Fig. 2.1). In addition, Perum
Perhutani intends to use them to replace poor pine
plantations in West Java.
The species planted are mainly Shorea and
Dipterocarpus spp. The genus Shorea consists of many
species commercially grouped on wood characteristics
into red meranti, white meranti, yellow meranti, balau
and red balau. Most Shorea spp. have been tried in
experimental plantations and the relatively fast-growing
S. leprosula, S. selanica, S. javanica, S. smithiana and
S. parviflora are receiving more attention. The rates
of growth of these species differ between regions but
S. leprosula grows faster in most places. In cooperation
with Japanese plantation companies (Japan is the main
importer of Indonesian dipterocarp timber), FERDA
(Forestry and Estate Crops Research and Development
Agency of Indonesia) and some universities have
compared the performance of Shorea spp. seedlings
and rooted cuttings and established experimental
plantations. There will be about 500 ha of plantations in
West Java and Sumatra (Riau and Jambi), mostly S.
leprosula and S. selanica.
Insect pests
Major insect pests recorded on dipterocarps are listed in
Table 4.3. Various species of weevils (Coleoptera) and
small moths (Lepidoptera) attack the seeds when the
fruits are on the tree and after they are shed (Curran and
Leighton 1991). They damage 40-90% of seeds of
several Shorea spp., Dipterocarpus cornutus and Hopea
odorata (Natawiria et al. 1986). Nursery seedlings of
Shorea leprosula and S. parviflora in East Kalimantan
are killed by gall forming mites (Rahayu et al. 1998). In
Sumatra, a sap-sucking bug, Mucanum sp. (Hemiptera,
Pentatomidae) kills Shorea javanica seedlings in nurseries
(Intari 1996) and the sap-sucking cicada, Lawana
candida, is an occasional pest of 7- to 9-year-old S.
leprosula in East Kalimantan (Rahayu et al. 1998).
Unidentified bagworms and other caterpillars have caused
serious damage to 5-7-year-old trees of several Shorea
spp. in East Kalimantan (Rahayu et al. 1998). The
polyphagous caterpillar Calliteara cerigoides is a serious
defoliator of dipterocarps in Indonesia (Messer et al. 1992,
Matsumoto 1994). The species attacked include Shorea
leprosula, S. pinanga, S. selanica, S. stenoptera, Hopea
mengrawan and H. odorata. Some defoliated saplings of
H. mengrawan succumbed to the damage. Minor leaf
damage by caterpillars and scarabaeid beetles has been
noticed in plantations of S. leprosula and S. selanica in
West Java (K.S.S. Nair, unpublished observations).
Termites attack living dipterocarps and may cause death
of trees (Nuhamara 1977; Elouard 1998).
Diseases
Several fungi, including Cylindrocarpon sp. and
Curvularia sp. attack dipterocarp seeds and reduce
germinability. Seedlings and saplings suffer leaf spots,
root and collar rots, defoliation, and darkening of root
and twig bark, caused by a variety of fungi, notably,
Fusarium spp. (Table 4.4). Information on fungi on
dipterocarps in Indonesia and the diseases they cause
is available in Elouard (1991, 1998). Gall formation on
shoots of seedlings and saplings of Shorea spp. is
attributed to the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens
in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan and an insectvector is
suspected (Elouard 1998). Recently, Rahayu et al.
(1998) noted a similar disease resulting in abnormal
tissue proliferation (prolepsis) and stunting of Shorea