Top Tips for Managing Mango Mealybugs in Your Garden

Mango is an important fruit, and Pakistan is one of the top exporters of mangoes, which are tropical fruits. It ranked 5th in mango fruit export, but it also faces significant challenges such as climate change, diseases, and insect pests. Mango mealybug, mango hoper, and fruit fly are the common insect pests of the mango. Today we will discuss in depth the mango mealybug, its biology, and control using the IPM strategy.

Biology and Identification of Mango Mealybug

Mango mealybug is the most common and devastating insect pest of mango in Pakistan, and its scientific name is Drosicha stebbingi. Young mealybugs are brown in color, while male adults have a brick-red color. The females are about half the size of a small fingernail, and they do not possess wings. The body is covered with white powdery wax. The mealybugs feed on the plants, and their droppings make plants black, which results in reduced photosynthesis, hence less production.

It reduces crop yield and quality of the produce and causes economic losses to the farmers.

Simple Ways to Control Mango Mealybug in Your Garden

Understanding Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Approaches to Safeguard Mango Crops from Mealybug Threats

There are different methods and techniques that are used to control the mango mealybugs, but the best strategy to control this pest is applying the IPM strategy. IPM of mango mealybugs involves monitoring, cultural control, biological control, and chemical control.

The Importance of Monitoring Mango Mealybug

It is very important to monitor the attack of mango mealybug. It attacks the plants in January to march so monitoring and inspection should be started in January and immediate required action should be taken against it.

Essential Cultural and Mechanical Control Practices Against Mealybug Infestation

Eggs should be exposed to the sun by digging and ploughing the soil so that larvae should be killed immediately with sunlight as they hatch from the egg. Sticky bands should be pasted on the tree trunk so that the pest cannot climb on the tree and attack. The remaining leaves and infested and dry branches should be burned. Cultural and mechanical control methods should be used together to get the best control of the pest.

Biological Control

To control mealybugs The burlap method is used; putting burlaps provides shelter and breeding places for beneficial and predator insects, which controls the population of the pests. Predators like Sumnius renardi are used to control the bugs biologically.

Chemical Control

  • The chemical control of the mealybugs involves different chemicals. The following chemicals are used to control this pest:
  • Folidol (Parathion)
  • Metasystox (Oxydemeton-methyl)
  • Dimethoate (systemic insecticide)
  • BHC Dusting (Benzene hexachloride)

Pesticide spray on trees can also kill or affect beneficial insects. To overcome this problem, some chemicals are injected into tree trunks by digging a hole.

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