THE USE OF SEVERAL TYPES OF ARTIFICIAL DIET TO INCREASE POPULATION AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR OF WEAVER ANTS (OECOPHYLLA SMARAGDINA F.) IN REDUCING COCOA POD BORER INFESTATION (CONOPOMORPHA CRAMERELLA SN.)

The aim of this research was to understand the effect on typical artificial diet to enhance ant population and activities. The research was conducted in Belopa district, Luwu Region Province of South Sulawesi from April to November 2012. This study was environmentally designed based on randomized complete block design, consisting of four (4) treatments with five (5) replications per treatment. The treatments included 1g of palm sugar pellet, shrimp pellet, and chicken intestine pellet and another was control. Each trial was tied and hanged on the cocoa pod with 4 m width from nest of ant and 2 m tall from the ground surface. The result revealed that of four treatments, the pods with shrimp pellet hanged were the highest population of rangrang (Oecophylla smaragdina) to visit than other treatments, having the average number of 10.4 individuals per pod. Another trial, palm sugar pellet was the second higher population being visited with the average of 9.7 individuals per pod. Another was chicken intestine pellet with just the average of 8.2 individuals per pod. Meanwhile, the population of rangrang in the pods without pellet treatment leveled off. Differentiation of effect on rangrang population on the all treatments from week 5 to week 8 observations showed that the cocoa pods with shrimp pellet trial were always visited by over whelming population of rangrang. Therefore, there was positive correlation between the trial and reduction of pod damage caused by CPB with 7.44 %.