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Phenacoccus saccharifolii (Green) (Pseudococcidae: Hemiptera) on sugarcane in Tamil Nadu, India


Affiliations
1 Division of Crop Protection, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641 007, India, India
2 Division of Crop Improvement, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641 007, India, India
3 Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, India, India
 

In this study, we report Phenacoccus saccharifolii (green) on sugarcane in Tamil Nadu, India, though an earlier unre­ported isolated occurrence was observed by us in the farmers’ fields at Pugalur, Tamil Nadu. This pest has now become a major threat to sugarcane cultivation across the state as it can often kill the infested canes with or without the association of the fungal disease, pokkah boeng. Field observations revealed that the ratoon crop was affected more than the plant crop in the same locality. This species was found in large colonies, primarily between the –2 and +1 leaf of the sugarcane plant and hence, named as crown mealybug. Infestation leads to severe mottling in the leaf whorl and death of the central shoot. To the best of our knowledge, there are no earlier studies on the occurrence of this mealybug on Saccharum spontaneum L. Well-deve­loped colonies showed high activity of three encyrtid para­sitoids, viz. Aenasius phenococci (Ashmead), Aenasius arizonensis (Girault) and Leptomastix dactylopii Howard in the areas surveyed

Keywords

Encyrtid parasitoids, fungal disease, infestation, Phenacoccus saccharifolii, Saccharum spontaneum, sugar-cane.
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  • Phenacoccus saccharifolii (Green) (Pseudococcidae: Hemiptera) on sugarcane in Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract Views: 230  |  PDF Views: 119

Authors

N. Geetha
Division of Crop Protection, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641 007, India, India
R. Viswanathan
Division of Crop Protection, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641 007, India, India
T. Ramasubramanian
Division of Crop Protection, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641 007, India, India
K. P. Salin
Division of Crop Protection, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641 007, India, India
C. Yogambal
Division of Crop Protection, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641 007, India, India
P. Nirmala Devi
Division of Crop Protection, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641 007, India, India
S. Karthigeyan
Division of Crop Improvement, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641 007, India, India
N. Chitra
Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, India, India

Abstract


In this study, we report Phenacoccus saccharifolii (green) on sugarcane in Tamil Nadu, India, though an earlier unre­ported isolated occurrence was observed by us in the farmers’ fields at Pugalur, Tamil Nadu. This pest has now become a major threat to sugarcane cultivation across the state as it can often kill the infested canes with or without the association of the fungal disease, pokkah boeng. Field observations revealed that the ratoon crop was affected more than the plant crop in the same locality. This species was found in large colonies, primarily between the –2 and +1 leaf of the sugarcane plant and hence, named as crown mealybug. Infestation leads to severe mottling in the leaf whorl and death of the central shoot. To the best of our knowledge, there are no earlier studies on the occurrence of this mealybug on Saccharum spontaneum L. Well-deve­loped colonies showed high activity of three encyrtid para­sitoids, viz. Aenasius phenococci (Ashmead), Aenasius arizonensis (Girault) and Leptomastix dactylopii Howard in the areas surveyed

Keywords


Encyrtid parasitoids, fungal disease, infestation, Phenacoccus saccharifolii, Saccharum spontaneum, sugar-cane.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv123%2Fi9%2F1142-1151