IntegratedPestManagementforControllingTeaPestsinIndonesia.docVIP

Integrated Pest Management for Controlling Tea Pests in Indonesia Damiri, B. V. Plant Protection Department, College of Agriculture, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia, boy.valenza@ Tea, is one of the important export commodities in Indonesia. Unfortunately the tea productivity in Indonesia has been decreasing from year to year. One of the factors that influence this condition is the lack management of controlling the common pest at tea plantation. Helopeltis antonii, Empoasca flavescens, Homona coffearia, Brevipalpus phoenicis, Cydia leucostoma have been reported as the major pests that should be seriously controlled to keep the stability of tea production in Indonesia. Prevention methods is the most important key that should be applied regularly to protect tea plants from the pest infestations. Reducing the use of insecticides for protecting the natural enemies and optimizing the use of natural enemies are the other keys for controlling these pest successfully. Keywords: Tea; Indonesia; Helopeltis antonii; Empoasca flavescens; Homona coffearia; Brevipalpus phoenicis; Cydia leucostoma. OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper is to formulate the integrated pest management for controlling the common tea pests in Indonesia. INTRODUCTION Indonesia is the worlds fifth largest black tea producer in the world after India, China, Srilanka, and Kenya (Suprihatini, 2005). In 2002, total tea production of this country reached 172.790 tons black tea, covering about 5.7 % from total tea production in this world (3.062.072 tons) (International Tea Committee/ITC, 2003 in Suprihatini, 2005). About 65% of tea production is allocated for export market (International Tea Committee/ITC, 2003 in Suprihatini, 2005). This country usually ship the commodity to countries in Europe, the Middle East, and the United States and Eastern Europe (Rulistia, 2008). Unfortunately, the productivity of tea plantation in Indonesia is still unstable. This condi