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Occurrence of Cassava Mealybug, Phenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero (Pseudococcidae: Hemiptera), A New Invasive Pest on Cassava in India and Prospects for its Classical Biological Control


Affiliations
1 ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Hebbal, Bengaluru 560 024, India
2 ICAR-National Centre for Integrated Pest Management, New Delhi 110 102, India
3 Tapioca and Castor Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Yethapur 636 119, India
4 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sandhiyur 636 204, India
5 Directorate of Research, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur 680 656, India
6 State Department of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Tamil Nadu, Senthamangalam 637 409, India
 

Increased globalization and trade have made India a target for entry of many new alien insect pests. One such unintentional recent introduction is the cassava mealybug (CMB), Phenacoccus manihoti on cassava. Monitoring on the occurrence and damage potential of CMB on cassava was undertaken during 2020. Among the places surveyed, maximum damage score (4–5) and density of the mealybug (>1000/shoot tip) were recorded in Salem and Namakkal districts of Tamil Nadu and Thrissur district of Kerala. In the absence of effective native natural enemies and other methods of control, CMB might pose a major crisis to the cassava industry in India. The prospects of its suppression by classical biological control are quite vibrant and the initiative to import the parasitoid wasp, Anagyrus lopezi from Thailand and the Republic of Benin is already being taken by ICAR-NBAIR, Bengaluru, India.

Keywords

Biological Control, Damage, Invasive, Monitoring, Phenacoccus manihoti.
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  • Occurrence of Cassava Mealybug, Phenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero (Pseudococcidae: Hemiptera), A New Invasive Pest on Cassava in India and Prospects for its Classical Biological Control

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Authors

M. Sampathkumar
ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Hebbal, Bengaluru 560 024, India
M. Mohan
ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Hebbal, Bengaluru 560 024, India
A. N. Shylesha
ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Hebbal, Bengaluru 560 024, India
Sunil Joshi
ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Hebbal, Bengaluru 560 024, India
T. Venkatesan
ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Hebbal, Bengaluru 560 024, India
Ankita Gupta
ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Hebbal, Bengaluru 560 024, India
S. Vennila
ICAR-National Centre for Integrated Pest Management, New Delhi 110 102, India
S. R. Venkatachalam
Tapioca and Castor Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Yethapur 636 119, India
M. Vijayakumar
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sandhiyur 636 204, India
Madhu Subramanian
Directorate of Research, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur 680 656, India
M. Yoganayagi
State Department of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Tamil Nadu, Senthamangalam 637 409, India
T. R. Ashika
ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Hebbal, Bengaluru 560 024, India
N. Bakthavatsalam
ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Hebbal, Bengaluru 560 024, India

Abstract


Increased globalization and trade have made India a target for entry of many new alien insect pests. One such unintentional recent introduction is the cassava mealybug (CMB), Phenacoccus manihoti on cassava. Monitoring on the occurrence and damage potential of CMB on cassava was undertaken during 2020. Among the places surveyed, maximum damage score (4–5) and density of the mealybug (>1000/shoot tip) were recorded in Salem and Namakkal districts of Tamil Nadu and Thrissur district of Kerala. In the absence of effective native natural enemies and other methods of control, CMB might pose a major crisis to the cassava industry in India. The prospects of its suppression by classical biological control are quite vibrant and the initiative to import the parasitoid wasp, Anagyrus lopezi from Thailand and the Republic of Benin is already being taken by ICAR-NBAIR, Bengaluru, India.

Keywords


Biological Control, Damage, Invasive, Monitoring, Phenacoccus manihoti.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv120%2Fi2%2F432-435