Frekuensi Kunjungan Elaeidobius kamerunicus Faust. pada Bunga Betina dan Efektivitasnya terhadap Pembentukan Buah Kelapa Sawit

Abstract

Elaeidobius kamerunicus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is the most effective pollinator of oil palm. This research aimed to study visiting frequency of E. kamerunicus on female flowers and its effectiveness to oil palm’s fruit set. Fix sample method was used to observe visiting frequency of E. kamerunicus. Observations were conducted in 10 minutes in the morning (09:00-10:00 am), afternoon (13:00-14:00 pm), and evening (16:00-17:00 pm). The environmental parameters were measured to know its effect to visiting frequency the weevil. The weevil mostly visited the flower in the morning (109 weevils/10 minutes), decreased at afternoon (26 weevils/10 minutes), and in the evening (13 weevils/10 minutes). The average visiting frequency of weevil to the female flowers was 50 individuals/10 minutes. Pollen load of the male weevil was 1440 pollen, while the female loaded about 635 pollen. The pollen viability on male and female body of the weevil were 8.65% and 7.90%, respectively. The average of oil palm’s fruit set in Sukamaju Plantation was 77.87%. The visiting frequency of weevil to the female flowers was positively related to the oil palm’s fruit set.