Coptotermes sp. (RHINOTERMITIDAE: COPTOTERMITINAE) INFESTATION PATTERN SHIFTS THROUGH TIME IN OIL PALM AGROECOSYSTEM

Abstract

Status of termite pest infestation as well as the changes through
time, corresponding to oil palm conversion from peat in Malaysia
can be studied. In accessing the status of palms infested by
Coptotermes sp., stand scouting method was conducted to map
the presence of this genus as well as the infestation status in each
palm. The palms were accessed from ground level to handreached
level and this was done in 24 ha field block with deep peat soil. The presence of Coptotermes sp., dead and replaced 

palms were recorded on census sheet, designed according to the
real ground arrangement of the palms. Advanced spatial pattern
by distance indices (SADIE) was adapted to generate the indices
of aggregation and clustering values for each study sites. These
values were exported into SURFER 8 software to generate redblue

contour maps with patches and gaps. Standardized stand
scouting method yielded in six Coptotermes species collected in
peat swamp converted oil palm field. The distribution pattern of
Coptotermes caused by the environmental influences as well as
the availability of wood resources. The patch and gap areas as
well as the random areas are not consistently occurred. Small
patches divided by gaps indicate one termite colony while larger
patches are formed by more than one colony. This study
contributes in the information on spatial pattern of termite pest
species in oil palm plantation. The latter may present the changes
in the status of the species over time.