| dc.description.abstract | One of the most important ecosystem service is biological control since it provide natural control and prevents pest population build up. Biological control is quite widely practiced in various types of ecosystems, including in the oil palm plantations. One aspect that is important in the practice of biological control is parasitoid abundance and wealth, as natural enemies of pests of oil palm. The objective of this research was to study the diversity of pests and its parasitoids at various age levels in oil palm plantation. Field observations were conducted 4, 6, 8, and 10- years old of oil palm plantation in Jambi from February to April 2014. Insects were collected using direct observation and yellow pan trap (YPT). Traps were placed on the canopy and stem on 50x50 m plots (consisting of 36 palm trees). Pests that were collected from direct observation were reared and identified in the laboratory. Parasitoids which emerge from pests as well as from traps were all identified until morpho-species or species level. Overall, 525 individuals were collected. The most dominant pests found in the field was Lymantriidae. There was no correlation between pest abundance and age of oil palm. Nineteen species of parasitoids were found be associated with pests from the oil palm. The dominant parasitoids from the family Eulophidae and Braconidae. These parasitoids parasitized the dominant pest from Lymantriidae, Psychidae, and Limacodidae families with parasitization rate that varies from 1.61-14.29%. Pest populations affected by phenology and plant architecture cause movement and increased pest attack while parasitoid populations affected by the presence of flowering plants as food source of adult parasitoids. | id |
