Resistance of oil palm seedlings against red spider mite attack through boron fertilizer application

Abstract

Red spider mites are one of the pests that attack oil palm seedlings, especially in the dry season. The damage caused by red spider mites in oil palm nurseries turns the leaves brown and necrotic and the growth of seedlings becomes weak and prone to infection with various types of disease. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of boron fertilizer application on red mite attacks in oil palm nurseries. There are four boron concentrations tested in this experiment (0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 ppm). Each treatment had one seedling, laid out as a randomized block design, and each treatment was replicated ten times in the nursery area. In this study, there was no artificial infestation of red spider mites, but red spider mites were allowed to attack naturally. The population of red spider mites declined in the application of boron fertilizer solution with a concentration of 1 ppm, which reduced by an average of 44.9a individuals/leaf (decreasing population to 69%). Meanwhile, in oil palm seedlings with no application of boron fertilizer (0 ppm), the population of red spider mites increased with an average of 40.8b individuals/leaf. An increase in boron content in leaves correlated with a decrease in red spider mite populations that attack oil palm seedlings. In this experiment, the resistance of oil palm seedlings to red spider mites attack is influenced by the boron nutrient content in the leaves.