A SURVEY ON THE OCCURRENCE OF PESTS AND DISEASES IN TONGKAT ALI (EURYCOMA LONGIFOLIA) PLANTATIONS IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

The root of Eurycoma longifolia is widely used as a raw ingredient in traditional medicine and human health supplement. Commercial interest has led to intensified planting of E. longifolia in Malaysia, which inevitably invites infestation problems from pests and diseases. During a nation-wide survey in Peninsular Malaysia between 2012 and 2013, conducted on 28 plantations of three different planting regimes, several pests and diseases were identified and new ones recorded. A total of five pests (tiger moth larvae, scale insect, Zeuzera stem borer, termite and spider mite) and four diseases (sooty mold leaf disease, algal leaf spot disease, Sudden Death Syndrome and Colletotrichum leaf disease) were identified. Infestation by the tiger moth (Atteva sciodoxa) is a new record found in all survey sites. The moth’s attack on monoculture E. longifolia plantation was the most destructive as reflected from the severity level (58.3%) measured as Damage Severity Index (DSI), in comparison to polyculture (33.3%) and in existing natural forest growth (32.7%). Since the last survey in 2011, a number of new pests and diseases have emerged, causing further damage and increase in pest and disease management cost. The study concluded that A. sciodoxa is the most severe pest of E. longifolia and planting the tree with other tree species in polyculture is an advantageous approach to curb the infestation.