Coconut farmers’ knowledge of host and management approaches of rugose spiraling whitefly ( Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin) in Bangladesh

AbstractRugose spiraling whitefly (Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin) has become a major pest of coconut in Bangladesh. To assess farmers’ knowledge on host and management approaches of this pest, a survey of 240 farmers was conducted in eight districts of Bangladesh. Farmers noticed an expanding dispersion of this pest in Bangladesh since 2019. Among all the districts examined, Cox’s Bazar district was highly infested. Farmers mainly cultivated local coconut varieties in their homesteads. Forty percent (40%) of the farmers among all districts estimated that the pest reduced coconut yield to more than half. Only 1% of all farmers knew about all life stages of the pest. Consultation with extension officers significantly improved farmers’ knowledge of the pest. Summer was the peak season for the whitefly infestation. Farmers identified 22 hosts of the pest and almost four out of ten (40.4%) applied management methods against the pest. Among them, 22% used chemical methods, 42% used non-chemical methods, and 24% used both methods. Farmer’s types, purposes, and knowledge influenced their management approaches.Keywords: Coconut pestdispersaldamage severityyield lossmanagement methods AcknowledgementsThe authors gratefully acknowledge the Sylhet Agricultural University Research System (SAURES) and the Ministry of Science and Technology, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) for providing the funds for our study. The authors are also grateful to the farmers and Sub-Assistant Agriculture officer (SAAO) of all survey districts for helping in conducting this study.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Author contributionThis research was conducted in collaboration by all authors. Md. Fuad Mondal, Jaher Ahmed, Ashraful Hasan Moyem designed the study. Howlader Mohammod Shamim, Ashraful Hasan Moyem, Pallab Kumar Paul, Bikash Dev, Md. Abdul Kader Duel and Md. Sazzad Hossain conducted the survey for data collection. Ashraful Hasan Moyem performed the statistical analysis, interpreted the data, and wrote the whole manuscript. Md. Fuad Mondal and Jaher Ahmed revised and improved the manuscript. All authors carefully reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.Additional informationFundingThe research was funded by the Sylhet Agricultural University Research System (SAURES) and the Ministry of Science and Technology, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC).