KOMPAS.com — Muni Muniappan, ahli serangga dan direktur Agency for International Development-funded Program di Virginia Tech menemukan adanya hama lalat putih raksasa (Aleurodicus dugesii) di Jawa Barat. Muniappan mengatakan, wilayah Jawa Barat merupakan wilayah Asia pertama di mana spesies hama ini terkonsentrasi dan berkembang biak.
Saat menemukan hama ini, Muniappan tengah menjalankan penelitian bersama tim ilmuwan dari Clemson University dan Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB). Adapun beberapa ilmuwan yang terlibat adalah Aunu Rauf, profesor ilmu serangga dari IPB, serta Gerry Carner dan Merle Shepard yang merupakan profesor ilmu serangga di Clemson University.
Muniappan mengatakan, bahwa ia mengetahui keberadaan hama ini pertama kalinya di tepi jalan wilayah Cipanas. Sesaat setelah penemuannya, Muniappan mengambil sampel hewan itu dan mengirimkannya ke seorang spesialis taksonomi lalat putih di California Department of Agriculture. Hasil analisa membuktikan bahwa hewan itu benar lalat putih raksasa.
Lalat putih sendiri merupakan hama yang berasal dari Amerika tengah, menyerang tanaman berkayu dan berbunga, termasuk tanaman buah dan Hibiscus. Hama ini menyerang tanaman dengan menghisap nutrisi, kemudian meninggalkan senyawa kaya gula yang akan menjadi hitam seperti jelaga, menyebabkan tanaman tak bisa berfotosintesis dan akhirnya mati.
Nimfa hama ini tumbuh dari telur yang biasanya terletak di bagian bawah daun dan memiliki lapisan lilin yang terlihat dari jauh. Konsentrasi hama jenis ini bisa menyebabkan kerugian besar dalam pertanian, seperti ketika hama menyerang ketela pohon di Afrika pada tahun 1980-an, mengakibatkan kerugian materi dan kelaparan.
"Kekhawatiran kami adalah, hama akan menyebar ke seluruh pulau di Indonesia dan negara tetangga di Asia Timur Laut dan Asia Selatan," kata Muniappan yang memimpin program kerja sama bertajuk Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program. Jika telah menyebar, kerugian materi yang diakibatkan bisa tak terkira.
Muniappan mengatakan, memperingatkan pihak terkait dengan hasil penelitian ini bisa mencegah dampak bencana. "Ilmuwan di negara ini, di mana lalat putih raksasa belum tersebar luas harus mengambil langkah pencegahan. Misalnya bisa dilakukan dengan cara menginformasikan kepada publik dan karantina untuk mecegah dampak ekonomi serius," katanya.
Menurut Muniappan, langkah pencegahan dengan kontrol biologis, yaitu dengan mengintroduksi spesies yang menjadi musuh, merupakan langkah paling efektif dan mudah. Di Amerika Serikat saat ini telah ada dua spesies yang menjadi musuh hama ini, yakni Idioporus affinis and Encarsiella noyesii.
Diketahui, tanaman ornamental seperti poinsettia saat ini tengah dikembangkan di berbagai wilayah di Indonesia. Jenis tanaman tersebut merupakan inang potensial hama ini. Dengan mengontrol persebaran hama tersebut, maka kerugian materi akibat serangan hama pada jenis tanaman tersebut bisa dicegah.
Worried World Great White Flies Pests
KOMPAS.com - Muni Muniappan, insect expert and director of the Agency for International Development-funded program at Virginia Tech found a giant white fly pest (Aleurodicus dugesii) in West Java. Muniappan said the West Java region is the first Asian region where this pest species are concentrated and breed.
When you find these pests, Muniappan center runs a joint research team of scientists from Clemson University and the Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB). As for some of the scientists involved are Aunu Rauf, professor of entomology from the IPB, and Gerry Carner and Merle Shepard who is a professor of entomology at Clemson University.
Muniappan said, that he knew of the existence of this pest first time at the curb Cipanas region. Shortly after its discovery, Muniappan take the animal samples and send them to a specialist taxonomic whiteflies in California Department of Agriculture. The study proves that the animal is really a giant white fly.
White fly itself is a pest that comes from Central America, to attack woody and flowering plants, including fruit trees and Hibiscus. These pests attack the plants by sucking nutrients, then left the compound rich in sugar which will become black as soot, causing the plant can not photosynthesize and eventually die.
Nymphs of this pest to grow from an egg that is usually located at the bottom of the leaf and has a waxy coating that looks from afar. The concentration of these pest species can cause major losses in agriculture, such as pests attacking cassava in Africa in the 1980s, resulting in material loss and hunger.
"Our concern is that pests will spread throughout the islands of Indonesia and neighboring countries in Northeast Asia and South Asia," says Muniappan who led the collaborative program called Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program. If it has spread, which caused material harm could immeasurably.
Muniappan said, warned parties involved with this research can prevent catastrophic impacts. "Scientists in this country, where a giant white flies are not yet widespread should take preventive steps. For example, can be done by informing the public and quarantine for mecegah serious economic impact," he said.
According Muniappan, preventive measures with biological control, namely by introducing a species to be enemy, is the most effective and easy steps. In the United States today there are two species that have become the enemy of this pest, namely Idioporus affinis and Encarsiella noyesii.
Known, ornamental plants such as poinsettias currently being developed in various regions in Indonesia. Different plants are potential hosts of this pest. By controlling the spread of pests, the material loss due to pest attack on crops that can be prevented.
