What's eating my salak?

Salak (Salacca zalacca), the snake-fruit palm, is attacked by rhinoceros beetles that bore into the crown and by red palm weevils whose larvae destroy the growing point. Scale insects infest the undersides of spiny fronds. Rats gnaw at ripe fruit clusters. The red palm weevil is the most lethal threat, capable of killing the whole plant.

Adults bore into crown; larvae tunnel through trunk; central fronds collapse and rot Pheromone traps; remove and destroy infested palms immediately; drench crown with approved insecticide as preventive

V-shaped cuts in unfurling fronds; bore holes in crown; weakens and stresses the palm Remove breeding sites (rotting wood/compost heaps); use baculovirus biopesticide (Oryctes nudivirus); pheromone traps

White or brown encrustations on frond undersides; fronds yellow and lose vigor Horticultural oil spray; remove badly infested fronds; systemic insecticide for severe cases