Bieri [m.bieri_ing@swissonline.ch]wrote:
> Do you or somebody else in Indonesia know the origin of this psyllid
> species. Is it originally from Asia/Indonesia or was it introduced
from
> elsewhere with planting material ? To my knowledge Leucena glauca
is an
> Africa species introduced to Asia.
Dear Markus,
Most leucaena in Indonesia is of south and central American origin (
L.
leucophala if memory serves) as I understand it. Winrock International
have
done some very good work in agroforestry and I have drawn much from
their
technical publications (unfortunately I don't have their book on hand,
or I
could tell you where the louse came from!). New Psyllid tolerant cultivars,
such as "Tarramba", lose their leaves when parasitised by psyllid but
do
not die, and will regrow leaves well a couple of months later. Work
on
other species of leucaena, with psyllid tolerance as a selected trait,
is
still in its early stages.
Biological control as you suggest would be marvellous, but it would
be hard
justifying the expense. Replacement of leucaena with gliracidia has
already
occurred, and if farmers were asked "what is the most important parasite
in
your operations", psyllid is in such distant memory that it wouldn't
register as a priority, compared to the many other insects that damage
rice, corn, soy etc. So the bill would have to be footed by an
international donor organisation, and if the locals don't see it as
top
priority , it will be a hard proposal to sell. A shame, as it could
be a
big help to farmers in Indonesia without them realising!
> I propose you to contact ICIPE-Kenya in Nairobi to start a project
on
this
> topic. If it is possible to solve this problem with a good biocontrol
> programme the fodder crop production can get highly improved on a
large
> and important area of the world.
> Please directly contact ICIPE-Kenya:
> Hans Herren: herren@africaonline.co.ke
> or
> Johann Baumgaertner: jbaumgaertner@icipe.org
Thank you for the contacts ; I shall get in touch and see what we can do.
Best wishes,
Simon Appleby