Sometimes there's an 'animal' that digs a hole right next to a newly planted tree. The bug burrows down and begins to eat the inside of the coconut, the part that's transitioning from food to tree.
At the time of planting a young coconut tree the plant is almost as much coconut (which is just a big seed) as it is green fronds; so when something attacks the seed, out of which only two or three new roots extend, death of the whole plant follows pretty quickly. As a result of this bug dining on the young coconut, on the seed, the new sprout dries up and dies.
We have acres of 'yard' planted to these trees and wandering around looking at the base of each tree for the tell-tale hole, the sign of invasion, just isn't practical. There are ways to kill the bug but usually by the time we notice the damage and are ready to treat the problem, it's too late to save the tree. The only sensible option is to yank the young tree out of the ground and plant another in its place. Rather than nurse an ailing tree, this is our course of action because we have NO shortage of baby trees.
Although we usually literally do yank the tree out of the ground, we cut this one to show just what the bug does.
