What is mealy bug?
It is the insects which suck the cell sap from the leaves, flowers, fruits and succulent plant parts hampering and destroying the growth of plant.
Life cycle of Mealy bug
Eggs – The eggs are laid as egg sacs in mass of wax threads in loose soil between April and May. The color of the eggs is purple and eggs period is 23-28 days.
Nymphs – Eggs are generally hatched during December to January. The nymphs travels to the tree via stem or fruits that touches the soil surface and feed on cell sap. The nymphs are yellow to pale white in colour and the total nymph period is 21-29 days.
Adults – The adult males are winged and short live. It generally cause no harm to the crops while adult female suck cell sap and crawl down to the ground for egg lying. The life of male and female adult is 12-31 days.
How does it damage the fruit?
- Both nymph and adults suck sap from the leaves causing withering and yellowing of leaves.
- Sometimes fruit may be drop prematurely and cause defoliation too.
- Heavy infestation may lead to sooty mold i.e., fungal infection also attracts black ants which help in the spread of these mealy bugs.
- Mealy bugs secrete honey dew which causes the secondary infestation of sooty mold which inhibits photosynthetic efficiency of the plant.
Symptoms
- The insects cover itself with a mat of cottony waxy secretion incase of heavy infestation.
- It infests at fruit stalks, leaves and terminal shoots causing, yellowing and drying of those parts.
Prevailing month-
- Mealy Bugs are more active during July – February.
How to manage or control the Mealy Bug?
| Cultural Practices | Biological Control | Chemical Control |
| Collection and destruction of all infested plant parts such as leaves, peduncle, twigs and fruits.Racking of soil around the tree region to expose the eggs of bugs and repeat after one-month upto75cm depth. | Apply neem oil 5ml of water along with detergent 1gm per liter of water omn infected parts.Release of Cryptoleamus montrouzieri (ladybird beetle) @ 10 numbers per tree would be effective to predate upon the eggs and nymphs of the mealy bugs. (Mani and Krishnamoorthy, 2007).Spray biopesticides viz., Verticillium lecanii10gm per lit and Beauveria bassiana 10ml per lit. | Application of foliar sprays of Imidaclopri (17.8% SL) @ 0.5ml per lit at 14 days interval.Apply a maximum of two foliar applications of Sulfoxaflor (21.8% w/w SC) @ 0.2 ml per lit. during heavy infestation @ 0.5 ml per lit of water at 14 days interval. |
