Stem symptoms

These are some of the symptoms you might see on coconut stems. Click on the possible causes of the symptoms to find out more.

Symptom		Possible cause
Stem left with no crown (© Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy, Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Australia)		Bogia coconut syndrome (BCS)
Net-like grooves on the trunk up to a few metres from soil level (© Gerald McCormak, Cook Island Biodiversity & Natural Heritage)		Coconut termite
Discolouration on the insides of cut trunks (© Monica Elliott, USDA APHIS ITP, Bugwood.org)		Ganoderma butt rot
Damage on a coconut palm trunk that looks like gnawing from an animal (© TNAU)		Rats
Holes chewed by the red palm weevil showing ejected chewed material (top) and brown liquid (bottom) (© TNAU)		Palm weevil Additional symptoms of palm weevil include: Crunching and chewing sounds when in close range to the trunk. Hollowed out palm trunk. Wilted crown. Death of fronds and/or leaves with straight tips rather than pointed tips. Eventual collapse of palm.
Distinct red ring showing when a transverse section of an infected trunk is cut (© Society of Nematologists slide collection)		Red ring disease
Coconut palm with a tapered trunk (© George Wall, formerly CALS/AES University of Guam)		Tinangaja - also look for a thin and battered crown

Symptom