Maetrika TERAsoilLog in

Pacific & Australia

Pacific Pests & Pathogens, Australian extension. 28 practices across 9 crops.

Summary of cited sources. TERAknow summarises published guidance from the sources linked on each page. Recommendations are general, not guaranteed: results depend on your soil, climate and variety, so confirm with local extension staff or an agronomist before acting.

Regional notes

What sources say about this region

  • Chili: Pacific Islands

    Emphasis on hot-water seed treatment, rotation and minimal fungicide use against anthracnose.

  • Coffee: Pacific and Hawaii

    Berry borer control relies on area-wide sanitation, Beauveria and sampling before spraying.

Practices

Practices tagged Pacific & Australia

Banana · Pisang

Full banana guide
    • Core practice
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Shooting & bunch

    Bag the bunch and remove the male bud early against blood disease

    Blood disease bacteria are carried by bees, flies and wasps that visit the male flowers. Removing the male bud and bagging the bunch cuts this route.

    Technical detail
    • Pacific Pests, Pathogens and Weeds: remove the male bud immediately after the last hand emerges, using a forked stick rather than a knife.
    • Bag the inflorescence after it emerges. Bags can come off after fruit set once the male bud is removed.
    • BRIN's Indonesia report lists bagging and debudding, disease-free planting material and removing infected plants as the recommended measures. Chemical control is not recommended.
    Regions
    Indonesia · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Banana guide
    • Core practice
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Vegetative growth

    Clean tools and remove infected plants with their neighbours

    Knives, infected suckers and soil spread blood disease between plants and farms. Hygiene and fast removal of sick plants limit spread.

    Technical detail
    • Clean tools with household bleach diluted 1 part to 3 parts water, and clean soil off footwear (Pacific Pests, Pathogens and Weeds).
    • Check plants often. Remove diseased plants, their suckers and their immediate neighbours. Chop or kill them and burn the dried material on site, including infected fruit.
    • The bacterium can survive in soil and plant remains for over a year. The same guide suggests leaving the site fallow for 18 months without weeds, or under a cover crop such as Mucuna.
    • Never take suckers from an infected mat, and do not plant downhill or downwind of diseased plots.
    Regions
    Indonesia · Pacific
    Confidence
    Medium confidence: one institutional guide
    Source
    Crop
    Banana guide

Chili · Cabai

Full chili guide
    • Core practice
    • Establishment
    • Stage: Nursery

    Treat seed and raise seedlings under cover

    Anthracnose can be carried on seed, and thrips and viruses attack young seedlings. Treat seed, use clean media and screen the nursery.

    Technical detail
    • Hot-water treatment: 52°C for 30 minutes, timed with a thermometer (Pacific Pests & Pathogens). Balitsa describes soaking at 50°C for about an hour.
    • Balitsa: seedbed 1 m wide, facing east, under clear plastic roofing, enclosed with fine netting against thrips.
    • Media: fine soil and manure 1:1, steam-sterilized. Check seedlings for leaf spots before moving them to the field.
    Regions
    Indonesia · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Chili guide

Coffee · Kopi

Full coffee guide
    • Core practice
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Harvest

    Break the berry borer cycle with frequent, complete picking

    The borer breeds inside berries and survives between crops in dry berries on the tree and the ground. Picking often and stripping all berries at season end removes its breeding sites.

    Technical detail
    • Pacific Pests: pick ripe berries at least every 2 weeks (2 to 3 weeks in hotspots), strip all berries at the end, and collect fallen berries. Aim for fewer than five ripe, overripe or raisin berries per tree.
    • Destroy infested berries: seal them in bins or bags in the sun for 2 weeks, bury at least 15 cm deep, or burn.
    • Area-wide action, where neighbours do the same, gives better control. Destroy abandoned plantings.
    Regions
    Widely applicable · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Coffee guide
    • Conventional
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Productive trees

    Monitor berry borer and spray only early, if needed

    Insecticides work only while the female is still in the entry tunnel. Sample trees to find hotspots and time any spray.

    Technical detail
    • Hawaii CoffeeEd uses a 30-tree sampling method to estimate infestation and decide when to spray.
    • Pacific Pests suggests spraying hotspots above 2% infestation. Use only products registered locally and follow the label.
    • Fallen berries are hard to treat, so sanitation remains the base.
    Regions
    Pacific · Widely applicable
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Coffee guide
    • Core practice
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Productive trees

    Plant rust-resistant varieties; protect with copper where needed

    Rust spores spread on wind and insects and need water to germinate. Resistant varieties are the first defence; copper protects susceptible trees.

    Technical detail
    • Puslitkoka lists resistant varieties S 795, Andungsari 2K, Gayo 1 and Komasti. Pacific Pests gives Catimor as an example.
    • Puslitkoka: copper fungicide at 0.3% every 2 weeks, or triadimefon 0.1% as a systemic. Pacific Pests notes sprays are usually not needed above 1,700 m.
    • Puslitkoka also mentions mahogany leaf extract as a botanical option.
    Regions
    Indonesia · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Coffee guide

Cocoa · Kakao

Full cocoa guide
    • Biological & regenerative
    • Crop care
    • Stage: Site & shade

    Establish light Gliricidia shade

    Cocoa needs light shade. Gliricidia grows quickly from cuttings and is the main shade tree in PNG guides.

    Technical detail
    • PNG handbook: plant sticks about 1 m long and 5 cm thick; they give useful shade in 6 to 9 months. Thin temporary shade over years 2 to 4.
    • ACIAR: about 75% of full sunlight is ideal. Pacific Pests suggests light shade of about 600 shade trees per hectare to limit black pod.
    • Prune shade before the main flowering period.
    Regions
    Pacific · Widely applicable
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Cocoa guide
    • Core practice
    • Establishment
    • Stage: Site & shade

    Plant on deep, well-drained land with room between trees

    Cocoa prefers deep soil near neutral pH. Avoid poorly drained heavy clay, where black pod is worse.

    Technical detail
    • BPTP Bengkulu: effective depth above 150 cm, loam-sand to clay-loam texture, pH 6.0 to 7.0 optimal.
    • Pacific Pests: plant at least 3 m apart; on slopes, choose sites with morning sun so leaves dry quickly.
    • PNG handbook: 4 m x 4 m for big clones; 4 m x 3 m or 3 m x 3 m for small clones.
    Regions
    Indonesia · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Cocoa guide
    • Core practice
    • Crop care
    • Stage: Formation

    Prune to an open, low canopy

    An open canopy dries fast, which reduces black pod, and a low tree makes weekly picking possible.

    Technical detail
    • PNG handbook: start formation pruning 6 months after planting, aiming for a trunk up to 50 cm with 5 main branches by about 2 years.
    • Maintenance: cut shoots above 3.5 m and branches drooping within 1.2 m of the ground. Prune lightly each month and more strongly twice a year after the harvest peaks.
    • Pacific Pests (pod borer): prune every 6 months and keep trees no more than 3 m tall.
    Regions
    Pacific · Indonesia
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Cocoa guide
    • Conventional
    • Soil & nutrition
    • Stage: Mature trees

    Feed weeded trees after the harvest

    Fertiliser works only on well-weeded trees. Ring-weed about 1 m around the trunk a month before applying.

    Technical detail
    • ACIAR (PNG): 50 g urea or 120 g NPK per mature tree, twice a year. These are rates from one guide; adjust to a soil test.
    • In Bengkulu, farmers applying N and P irregularly had leaves low in N and P, while soil K was high.
    • Composted chicken manure at least 3 months old can be added, up to 10 kg per tree twice a year in the ACIAR manual.
    Regions
    Pacific · Indonesia
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Cocoa guide
    • Biological & regenerative
    • Soil biology
    • Stage: Mature trees

    Recycle litter, prunings and buried husks

    Leaf litter protects the soil and reduces rain splash. Husks and prunings return nutrients, but must be buried because they carry disease and pests.

    Technical detail
    • ACIAR: leave fallen leaves as mulch, with a 20 cm clear space around the trunk. Mulch improves moisture and stimulates microbial activity.
    • PNG handbook: bury husks, prunings and manure about 10 cm deep in trenches between rows, alternating direction each year.
    • BPTP Bengkulu linked high soil K partly to pod husks spread on the land.
    Regions
    Pacific · Indonesia
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Cocoa guide
    • Core practice
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Harvest & fermentation

    Beat pod borer with complete, frequent, regular harvest

    Pod borer larvae feed inside pods and leave them in about 2 to 3 weeks. Picking every pod as it turns yellow, weekly, breaks the cycle before moths emerge.

    Technical detail
    • Pacific Pests: harvest at 7-day intervals, do not miss mature pods, and bury infested pods. It works best when neighbours do the same.
    • ACIAR: weekly in the rainy season and fortnightly in the dry season. Pacific Pests notes that ants (Iridomyrmex) commonly prey on 40 to 60% of the pest.
    • In Central Sulawesi trials, sex pheromone traps helped reduce infestation. Pacific Pests does not recommend pesticides for smallholders.
    Regions
    Indonesia (Sulawesi) · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Cocoa guide
    • Conventional
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Mature trees

    Remove black pods; use copper or phosphonate if needed

    Black pod spores splash from soil and infected pods. Sanitation and an open canopy come first; fungicides support them in the wet season.

    Technical detail
    • Pacific Pests: remove diseased pods at least monthly, more often in the main crop. The PNG handbook says weekly. Bury or burn husks.
    • Pacific Pests: copper sprays on pods every 2 weeks in the main crop season, or phosphonate trunk injections once or twice a year.
    • Use only locally registered products and follow the label.
    Regions
    Pacific · Widely applicable
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Cocoa guide
    • Core practice
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Mature trees

    Use resistant clones and cut out VSD branches

    Vascular streak dieback (VSD) infects young leaves in wet weather and shows 3 to 5 months later. Protectant fungicides do not work, so resistant planting material is the main tool.

    Technical detail
    • PNG handbook: prune infected branches 30 cm below the lowest symptom, especially before the wet season, and bury the cuttings.
    • Pacific Pests: pruning helps mainly on varieties with some resistance. Do not move plants from infested areas; quarantine for 3 months.
    Regions
    Pacific · Indonesia
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Cocoa guide
    • Core practice
    • Harvest
    • Stage: Harvest & fermentation

    Pick ripe pods and ferment for up to 6 days

    Harvest pods as soon as they ripen: green pods turn yellow and red pods turn orange. Ferment in boxes and turn the mass daily.

    Technical detail
    • PNG handbook: pods can wait up to 2 days before breaking. Break them with a blunt stick, not in rain.
    • Fill boxes at least 50 to 65 cm deep, cover with banana leaves, turn every 24 hours, and stop at 6 days. The mass peaks around 50 °C on day 4.
    • Sun-dry in a layer about 2 cm deep, raking often. Bengkulu farmers harvest once a week.
    Regions
    Pacific · Indonesia
    Confidence
    Medium confidence: one institutional guide
    Sources
    Crop
    Cocoa guide

Tomato · Tomat

Full tomato guide
    • Core practice
    • Soil & nutrition
    • Stage: Field establishment

    Plant on raised beds and correct acidity

    Raised beds with drains reduce waterlogging and bacterial wilt risk. Lime acid soils at least 3 weeks before planting.

    Technical detail
    • Jambi guide: beds 110 to 120 cm wide, 20 to 30 cm high, with 50 cm between beds as drains.
    • Lime about 300 kg/ha in furrows 15 to 20 cm from the row, 10 to 15 cm deep, at least 3 weeks before planting (one guide; adjust to a soil test).
    • Pacific Pests & Pathogens: plant on ridges or raised beds where drainage is poor.
    Regions
    Indonesia · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Tomato guide

Mango · Mangga

Full mango guide
    • Core practice
    • Crop care
    • Stage: Canopy building

    Train an open, low canopy

    A low, open canopy dries faster after rain, reduces anthracnose and makes bagging and picking easier.

    Technical detail
    • Indonesian 1-3-9-27 system: start at 80 to 120 cm height, keep 2 to 3 main branches at wide angles, then 9 secondary and 27 tertiary branches.
    • Maintenance pruning from about 2.5 to 3 years keeps the canopy 2 to 3.5 m tall. Pacific Pests advises keeping trees under about 4 m.
    • UF/IFAS: prune soon after harvest. Severe pruning reduces cropping for one or more seasons.
    Regions
    Indonesia · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Mango guide
    • Conventional
    • Crop care
    • Stage: Pruning & flower induction

    Use paclobutrazol only on healthy, well-sized trees

    Paclobutrazol, applied as a soil drench at the trunk, can give earlier and more even flowering. Dose goes by tree size, not age.

    Technical detail
    • NT Agnote: collar drench mixed in about 1 L of water after harvest; foliar sprays were ineffective. Do not treat weak trees.
    • Wait until trees have a good canopy: about 3 years in high-density blocks and about 5 years at 10 m spacing.
    • Overdosing compacts flowers and shoots. Paclobutrazol can leave soil residues and is not allowed in organic systems. Follow the local label.
    Regions
    Australia · Indonesia · Latin America
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Mango guide
    • Core practice
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Flowering & fruit set

    Prevent anthracnose from flowering onward

    Anthracnose spreads by rain splash and thrives in humid, dense canopies. Remove dead twigs and fallen leaves, keep the canopy open, and protect flowers and young fruit.

    Technical detail
    • Pacific Pests: start protective sprays when flowers first appear and repeat every 3 to 4 weeks up to the pre-harvest interval. Products named for Australia include mancozeb, azoxystrobin and copper.
    • UF/IFAS: sprays after infection have no effect; coat new growth before infection.
    • Use only products registered locally and follow the label.
    Regions
    Widely applicable · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Mango guide
    • Core practice
    • Harvest
    • Stage: Fruit growth & harvest

    Pick mature fruit in cool hours and drain the sap

    Harvest when fruit shoulders fill out, in the early morning or late afternoon, with a stalk left on.

    Technical detail
    • Indonesian guide: pick 07.00 to 09.00 or 16.00 to 17.30, leave about 10 cm stalk, and hold the stalk down for about 5 minutes to drain latex.
    • Fruit that sinks in water is mature (TNAU, Kementan).
    • Hot water at 52°C for 5 minutes after harvest reduces anthracnose in storage (Pacific Pests, TNAU).
    Regions
    Indonesia · India (Tamil Nadu) · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Mango guide

Durian · Durian

Full durian guide
    • Conventional
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Fruit growth

    Phosphonate trunk injection for Phytophthora

    Trunk injection with neutralised potassium phosphonate is the main chemical tool tested in Southeast Asia.

    Technical detail
    • ACIAR: use phosphonate neutralised to pH 6.5 to 7.0. Mature trees received two or three injections a year during leaf flush, reduced to once a year as disease fell.
    • Inject in the morning and watch for bark splitting with high-pressure systems.
    • Use only products registered locally and follow the label.
    Regions
    Vietnam · Thailand · Australia
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Durian guide

Pineapple · Nanas

Full pineapple guide
    • Core practice
    • Establishment
    • Stage: Land & planting material

    Select, grade and cure planting material

    Uniform, healthy suckers, slips or crowns give an even crop that can be forced at one time. Curing helps prevent butt rot.

    Technical detail
    • Kerala: suckers of 0.5 to 1 kg, shade dried about 7 days, lower leaves removed and cured another 7 days.
    • Guam: grade slips by size and cure butt-up in a dry, airy place for a week or more.
    • Time to harvest depends on material: about 12 months from root suckers, 18 from stem suckers and 24 from crowns (BPTP Riau).
    Regions
    India (Kerala) · Pacific · Indonesia
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Pineapple guide
    • Core practice
    • Establishment
    • Stage: Land & planting material

    Plant on raised beds in double rows

    Raised beds reduce erosion and root and heart rots. Double rows fit more plants while leaving paths for work.

    Technical detail
    • Guam: contoured raised beds, often with black plastic mulch; double rows are the preferred layout.
    • Kerala: trenches about 90 cm wide, double rows 70 x 30 cm, about 40,400 plants/ha, planted 7.5 to 10 cm deep.
    • Riau peat project: 70 cm between plants and 100 cm between rows.
    Regions
    Pacific · India (Kerala) · Indonesia (Riau)
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Pineapple guide
    • Core practice
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Land & planting material

    Start with wilt-free planting material

    Mealybug wilt spreads through planting material. Take material only from healthy fields or use treated or tissue-culture plants.

    Technical detail
    • Pacific Pests: use tissue culture or hot water at 50°C for 30 minutes, or take material from fields with under 10% wilt.
    • Do not take suckers next to diseased plants. Avoid replanting where wilt occurred.
    • Crowns or slips can be dipped in horticultural oil before planting.
    Regions
    Pacific · Widely applicable
    Confidence
    Medium confidence: one institutional guide
    Source
    Crop
    Pineapple guide
    • Biological & regenerative
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Vegetative growth

    Control ants so natural enemies can work on mealybugs

    Ants protect mealybugs and move them between plants. Breaking ant nests and keeping borders clean lets ladybirds and parasitic wasps reduce mealybugs.

    Technical detail
    • Pacific Pests: cultivate to destroy big-headed ant nests and keep field borders weed-free.
    • Remove and burn wilting plants as soon as they appear.
    • Ant baits or insecticides are a later step, used only if wilt passes about 3% of plants and products are registered locally.
    Regions
    Pacific · Widely applicable
    Confidence
    Medium confidence: one institutional guide
    Source
    Crop
    Pineapple guide
    • Conventional
    • Crop care
    • Stage: Flower induction

    Force flowering for an even harvest

    Ethephon or calcium carbide in the plant heart makes plants flower together, so fruit can be harvested at one time.

    Technical detail
    • Kerala: 50 ml of 25 ppm ethephon with 2% urea and 0.04% calcium carbonate into the heart of 10 to 12 month old plants, in dry weather.
    • Guam: about half a teaspoon of calcium carbide in the heart; wrong dosing of advanced agents can give distorted fruit.
    • Adjust doses to the product's active ingredient and the local label.
    Regions
    India (Kerala) · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Pineapple guide
    • Core practice
    • Harvest
    • Stage: Harvest & ratoon

    Harvest by eye colour and cut the stalk cleanly

    Pick when the base turns yellow and the eyes flatten. Cut rather than break the stalk, and handle fruit gently.

    Technical detail
    • BPTP Riau: harvest in the morning with a sharp knife; a 0 to 7 colour index guides use, with 3 to 6 suited to canning or local fresh sale.
    • Guam: for market, pick when the lower half to two thirds is yellow.
    • Guam: the first ratoon crop comes 12 to 14 months after the plant crop. The CIFOR peat guide keeps at most 2 suckers per clump.
    Regions
    Indonesia (Riau) · Pacific
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Pineapple guide

Citrus · Jeruk

Full citrus guide
    • Biological & regenerative
    • Pests & disease
    • Stage: Bearing tree

    Conserve psyllid parasitoids and predators

    Parasitoid wasps, ladybirds, hoverflies and insect-killing fungi reduce psyllid numbers, but on their own they do not stop HLB spread.

    Technical detail
    • PTKJS: Tamarixia radiata and Diaphorencyrtus aligarhensis parasitize psyllid nymphs; the fungus Hirsutella infects them in the rainy season. Conserve ladybirds and hoverflies.
    • Pacific Pests prefers botanical sprays such as neem with soap where sprays are needed.
    • UF/IFAS: Tamarixia, lady beetles and lacewings help, but parasitoids alone have not slowed disease spread.
    Regions
    Indonesia · Pacific · Widely applicable
    Confidence
    High confidence: several institutional sources agree
    Sources
    Crop
    Citrus guide
THE NEXT STEP
LET'S CULTIVATE PROGRESS

Better soil starts
with better decisions.

Turn soil insights into practical action, from testing to targeted improvement.

Talk to our team