Mulberry

NSECT PESTS OF MULBERRY

1.	Pink mealy bug: Maconellicoccus hirsutus
2.	Papaya mealy bug: Paracoccus marginatus
3.	Leaf webber: Diaphania pulverulentalis
4.	Thrips: Pseudodendrothrips mori
5.	Termite: Odontotermes obesus

1. Pink mealybug 

Type of damage

• Nymphs and adults suck the cell sap from tender leaves and buds.
• Nutritive value of leaves, leaf yield and plant height are drastically reduced.

Symptoms

• Malformation of the apical shoots, retarded growth, wrinkling and curling of the affected leaves, become dark green in colour.
• Leaves become pale yellow on severe infestation.
• Affected portions become brittle.
• Symptoms are collectively called as Tukra (Bushy top) disease

Management

• Cutting the affected shoots and burning
• Spraying Fish Oil Rosin Soap (FORS) @ 40 g/l or dichlorvos 76 WSC @ 2 ml/l, (safe waiting period: 15 days)
• Releasing Cryptolaemus montrouzieri @ 750 beetles/ha and Scymnus coccivora @ 1000 beetles/ha.

Papaya Mealy Bug

Paracoccus marginatus Williams & Granara de willink (Pseudococcidae : Hemiptera)
It is a new record, exotic in origin and seems to have been introduced into India. It is an invasive pest on wide variety of commercial crops.
Symptoms and damage

• Apical portions are affected initially and thereafter, it spreads all over the plant affecting even woody regions
• Malformation of affected portion due to toxin injected during feeding
• Stunted growth of plant and yellowing of leaves
• Sooty mould on leaves and plants due to honey dew secretions of the pest
• Movement of ants in the vicinity which help in spread of the mealy bugs
• Outright killing the plant in case heavy infestation

PAPAYA MEALYBUG

Parasitoids
NBAII has successfully imported the three Encyrtid parasitoids viz., Acerophagus papaya, Pseudleptomastix Mexicana and Anagyrus loecki with the help of USDA-Animal and Plant Health Information Services from Puerto Rico and completed all the mandatory safety and specificity tests in the quarantine facility.
Mass production 
The parasitoids can successfully be multiplied in the laboratory on Paracoccus marginatus colonies grown on potato sprouts and shoots.
Strategy for classical biological control

• Inoculative release of the exotic parasitoids @ 500 parasitoids of each species per village in the pest infested hotspot areas; releases may be repeated if necessary
• Conservation of the released parasitoids and naturally occurring predators like Spalgis and coccinelids by avoiding the use of chemical pesticides
• Pest infested weeds like Parthenium, Plumeria alba and Acalypha Indica will be the valuable reservoirs of parasitoids and hence should not be destroyed or sprayed with chemical pesticides
• Initial releases can be concentrated in mulberry plantations with heavy mealybug infestation  


Leaf webber

Type of damage     
• Larvae defoliate the mulberry plants. 
• Reduction in leaf yield.
Symptoms   
• Cause damage by folding the leaves and by webbing the tender shoots. 
• Larvae web the leaves together and feed from inside on soft tissues, and skeletonize them.
• Grown up caterpillars feed voraciously on tender leaves.
• Apical tips are preferred for feeding, resulting in stunting.  Also, apical shoots are destroyed due to egg laying. 
• Quality of leaf and yield is severely affected.
Management
Integrated management