Pest Control in Cocoa Plantation

Biological control

1.1. Aphid

The biological control that usefully can eliminate this aphid colonizes is natural enemies. The natural enemies which commonly attack these types of pest are order come from Hymenoptera and called as parasitoid. The example of parasitoid is usually wasps. A tiny female wasp will lay eggs into the aphid body until the eggs emerge in aphid body. Aphid body appears black when new parasitoid has formed. A new wasp emerges through a hole chewed in the dorsum. Aphid body's is as a host for parasitoid. As long the larva inside the aphid body, its will feed on the nutrient that contain in aphid. This will cause the aphid become weak and lead the aphid die. Through the parasitoid control method, it is very effective in order to control aphid colonizes in cocoa pod. Beside that, ladybeetles as predator also can be use to control the aphid habitat. These ladybeetles will feed on the both of pests. The larva of ladybeetles also voracious feeder which feed on the aphid thus can induce the number of aphid. Usually, ladybeetles are mostly like to laid eggs near the aphids colonizes. So that, when the larva emerges, then it will independently search for their food. The efficiency of a predator depends upon its searching ability and effectiveness in capturing prey. The numbers of predators seem to be greatest when aphid numbers are already declining after a peak in abundance and, thus, their apparently great impact at that time may actually have little significance in population regulation. Predators can increase rapidly in numbers only after their prey has become sufficiently abundant, so there is an important time lag between prey and predator numbers (Hemptinne and Dixon, 1991).

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