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Using Ferula assafoetida L (This herb is called Maha Hing in Thai and can be found at any Thai or Chinese herb shop. It is also often used in Indian cuisine)
Learned from Dusit Rakthong of Ban Chang, Rayong, Thailand
Materials: Ferula assafoetida L- in powder form. A small amount of cement to cap hole
Equipment: a drill with a 3/8 inch drill bit
Method:
With a 3/8 inch drill bit make a hole at 45 degree angle (down into the tree) of about 5-6 inches in length.
Fill this with Ferula assafoetida L (in powder form) and close with a cement cap.
This will prevent the pest for at least 3 years. So you should do again about every 3 years or so. This does not harm the tree and does prevent these pests and helps the trees have high coconut yields.
This herb is edible and used in cooking and often used in Thailand as a medicine for very young children to relieve gas and stomach bloating. (applied externally in liquid form to the belly)
While he said it is best as a prevention, he applied the technique with a tree that was already infected with these pests. Not long after this he saw great numbers of these borer beetles on the ground around the tree trunk- in a drunken state. This for him was positive confirmation of how this herb works.
Dusit Rakthong is a respected farmer/ teacher who with his wife manages a integrated coconut forest garden system and they earn their main livelihood from selling virgin organic coconut oil they process themselves, but they have diverse other yields in their forest garden. He is also a student of Pooyai Viboon Khemchalerm and his Wanakaset method. He said knowledge of this technique has been maintained by the coconut farmers of Ban Chang.
Written by Michael Commons, Earth Net Foundation / Terra Genesis International