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About Mealy bug
awareness Program
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qThree
species of mealy bug are found on cotton. Phenacoccus solenopsis
is the most predominant in Punjab.
-
qReproduction
in mealy bug is mostly parthenogenetic.
-
qMature
female lays eggs in ovisacs. Each ovisac contains 150- 600 eggs,
majority of which are female.
-
qEggs
hatch in 3 to 9 days into nymphs called ‘crawlers’, which are
very mobile. The nymphal stage lasts for 22-25 days.
-
qIndividual
mealy bug take 25- 30 days to grow into adults under normal
conditions.
-
qThere
are 12- 15 generations in a year.
-
qThe
species survives cold conditions as eggs in ovisac or other stages,
both on the host plant or in the soil.
In warm climates, the insects remain active and reproduce
round the year.
top
- qMealy
bug are polyphagous and multiply on different hosts.
- qInitially
the pest breeds on weeds and later migrates to cotton crop.
- qParthenium
is a favourite host for the pest. It also feeds on Itsit, datura,
milkweed, Chenopodium sp.
- qIt
multiplies well on okra, tomato and brinjal.
top
- qCrawlers
crawl from an infected to healthy plant.
- qSmall
crawlers are readily transported by wind, rain, birds,
clothing and vehicle on new plants.
- qThe
waxy coating facilitates passive transport of the insect by their
sticking/clinging to equipments, animals or people moving during
field operations.
- qLong-distance
movement is through transport of infested cotton sticks or seed
cotton.
- qCrawlers
are also carried through irrigated water, when the mealy bug
infested plants are thrown in water channel.
- qAnts,
attracted by the honeydew, carry crawlers of mealy bug from plant
to plant.
ASSOCIATION
OF ANTS WITH MEALY BUG
- qMealy
bug provide ants with their sugary secretion (honeydew) as food and
in retur
 n
ants help in spreading of mealy bug.
- qAnts
provide protection to mealy bug from predatory ladybird
beetles, parasites and other natural enemies.
- qAnts
keep mealy bug colony clean from detritus that accumulate in
the secreted honeydew, which may be harmful to the colony .
Association
of ants with mealy bug
- qAdults
and nymphs weaken the plants by sucking
sap from leaves, twigs, stems, roots and fruiting bodies.
- qBolls
are deformed, fewer and smaller in size in affected plants.
- qHoney
dew secreted by the pest encourages development of black sooty mould
which adversely
affecting photosynthetic activity.
Mealy
bug infesting cotton plant (1), Flower (2),Square (3), Green boll (4)
BEFORE
PLANTING
- qLocate
ant colonies and destroy them by drenching of chlorpyriphos
20 EC @ 2 .5 ml/l or by application of 5% malathion dust.
This operation can be carried out 2 or 3 times during the
season.
- qUproot
severely affected cotton plants at early stage of
infestation, bury them in a pit and spray with any one of
the recommended chemical insecticide or bio-pesticide such
as Verticillium lecanii .
- qWash
equipments with a jet of water or spray with chemical
insecticides before moving to uninfected portions in a crop.
- qMonitor
fields regularly and give spot application of recommended
insecticides to avoid further spread of mealy bug from
infested plants. Spot application helps in conservation of
coccinellid beetles, wasps, etc, which are important
predators of mealy bug nymphs.
Coccinellid
predators: 1. Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, 2. Brumus
suturalis near mealy bug, 3. Coccinella septumpunctata,
4. Cheilomenes sexmaculata 5.Coccinellid
larvae feeding on mealy bug ;
- qSpray
V. lecanii (2x108
cfu/ml) (fungal
pathogen) @ 5 g or ml per litre of water during high humid
days.
- qSpray
fish oil rosin soap (FORS) @ 20gm/litre of water twice at an
interval of 15-20 days, depending on pest incidence.
- qIn
case of severe infestation, spray recommended insecticides
such as carbamate (carbaryl 50 WP @ 2500 g/ha or thiodicarb
75WP @ 625 gm/ha) or organophosphates (profenofos
50EC @ 1250 ml/ha, quinalphos 25 EC @ 2000 ml/ha, acephate
75 SP @ 2000 gm/ha or chlorpyriphos 25 EC @ 5000 ml/ha) 1-3
times as per need,
in rotation.
AFTER
HARVESTING
- qDo
not allow the cattle to graze in infested fields.
- qRemove
all crop residues in previously infested fields, bury them
and spray with any one of the recommended insecticide or
bio-pesticide such as V. lecanii.
- q Store
cotton sticks away from the fields and if possible a barrier
of insecticide (e.g. malathion dusting) should be made
around the stacks.
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