A professor with the department of conservative biology and entomology, Prof. Benjamin Mensah has advised all palm plant producers to pay much attention to pollinating weevils on their plantations.
The pollinating weevil, with the scientific name Elaedobius kamerunicus (EK), is the most efficient insect pollinator of oil palm, which has successfully improved the pollination and yield of palm plants.
Since its introduction from Africa into the oil palm growing regions of Sabah in the year 1981, there has been a significant reduction in the need for assisted pollination.
According to Prof. Mensah, such insects help in high crop yield and help fertilize flowers within the oil palm plant.
He noted that the insects help in pollination during rainy seasons when the wind pollination is not working effectively.
Speaking on the ATLANTIC WAVE he explained that “if we don’t focus on them and study more on them to understand what they do and so on annoyingly we do anything that destroys their population then we are going to be in difficulty as the statisticians discover, the insects are so small that the farmers may not notice their presence”
Prof. Benjamin Mensah, therefore, urged all farmers to not see the insects as enemies to the oil palm plant but as pollinators needed for a good yield of the crop.
Read also: Free Aptitude Test held for final year pupils in Kakumdo
Source: Richard Osei Korankye/ATLFMNEWS
