MANAGEMENT OF THE COCONUT AGROECOSYSTEM WITH AN EMPHASIS ON LETHAL YELLOWING OF COCONUT PALM (Cocos nucifera L.)

Abstract

The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) is broadly distributed in all tropical areas. It is considered one of the twenty most important cultivated plants in the world, and is a basic element for the agricultural economy of many countries. México has gained a position among the ten principal producing countries of coconut at the global level. However, it is estimated that since 1979, the surface of coconut cultivation has been reduced in 85 % because of the lethal yellowing in coconut (LYC) provoking great economic losses. This disease is caused by a phytoplasma of the 16SrlV group, which has as principal vector the insect Haplaxius crudus Van Duzee (Homoptera: Cixiidae). The objective was to review the development of strategies for management of LYC, highlighting that this is based on the prevention, using strategies such as: utilization of resistant material, monitoring of plants with symptoms, eradication of sick plants, management of the vector, and control of alternate hosts of phytoplasm