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Sheil, D., Casson, A., Meijaard, E., Van Noordwijk, M., Gaskell, J., Sunderland-Groves, J., Wertz, K. and Kanninen, M. (2009) The Impacts and Opportunities of Oil Palm in Southeast Asia: What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know? Vol. 51, Center for International Forestry Research Bogor, Indonesia.

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Impact of Progressive Pruning on Leaf Miner (Coelaenomenodera lameensis) Incidence and the Yield of Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis) —A Case Study of Benso Oil Palm Plantation Plc, Adum Banso Estate, Ghana

  AUTHORS: Isaac Addo, Emmanuel Ackah, Samuel Avaala Awonnea, Kwasi Baah Ofori, Victor Tetteh Zutah, Geoffrey Smith Oduro, Esther Fobi Donkor, Kwadwo Gyasi Santo

  KEYWORDS: Coelaenomenodera lameensis, Elaeis spp, Leaf Miner, Oil Palm, Progressive Pruning, Fresh Fruit Bunch, BOPP. Plc

  JOURNAL NAME: American Journal of Plant Sciences, Vol.14 No.3, March 31, 2023

  ABSTRACT: The oil palm leaf miner, Coelaenomenodera lameensis, is currently the most destructive pest of oil palm in Ghana and other African oil palm growing countries, causing significant losses in fresh fruit bunch yield. Progressive pruning is an oil palm pruning method in which pruning is done at the same time as fresh fruit bunch harvesting. This study evaluated the impact of progressive pruning on leaf miner population in oil palm and how these two factors (leaf miner and progressive pruning) affect the yield of oil palm at the Benso Oil Palm Plantation Public listed company (BOPP. Plc). Five distinct blocks in the plantation were selected for observations on fronds at various ranks (33, 25, or 17) based on the degree of defoliation by counting the number of pests on leaflets at different phases of insect development. Fronds from selected plots were sampled in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The size of plots used for the study ranged between 19 to 45 hectares. A minimum of 78 fronds were evenly cut from each block for pest count depending on the block size. Secondary data on annual yields of fresh fruit bunches before and after the introduction of progressive pruning were also obtained from BOPP. Plc records from 2011-2020. The results from the analyzed data on leaf miner index before and after the introduction of progressive pruning showed that progressive pruning has, to a high extent (64% to 36%), reduced leaf miner populations in the plantation. Paired t-test on fresh fruit bunch yield has also revealed a significant (p , however, revealed a lower rate of yield loss (3.05 to 2.70 tonnes) to leaf miner infestation after the introduction of progressive pruning. The study recommends progressive pruning as a key cultural practice for improving crop yields in leaf miner prone plantations.