Mealybug attack may intensify in summer

Agriculture experts have warned that the mealybug attack on crops, which has been reported from many parts of the State, may intensify in the coming months .

The pest attack has been reported in a large number of cultivated plants, including brinjal, guava, amla, tomato, plantains, custard apple, elephant yam and colocasia, across the State.

Seven districts hit

Surveys carried out by the researchers at the All India Network Project on Agricultural Ornithology (AINPAO) of the College of Horticulture, Thrissur, have confirmed the pest attack in seven districts, including Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Kottayam districts.

Cash crops, medicinal plants and fruit trees are susceptible to the pest attack. The infestation can lead to retarded growth of the affected plants and eventually crop loss.

The infestation will suppress the plant growth as the pests feed on plant juice. A black soot-like fungi spreads on the leaves affecting the plant growth, researchers said.

It is estimated that there can be crop loss to the tune of 10 to 15 per cent. The pest attack may increase significantly during the peak summer months of April and May, said Mani Chellappan, a researcher at the college.

The warm and sunny days are conducive for the spread of the bug. The intensity of the attack may recede during the rainy season.

Papaya mealybug

It was in 2009 that the State witnessed widespread mealybug attack. Researchers had identified the pest Papaya mealybug as responsible for the infestation, which caused widespread damage to a large number of agricultural crops. The infestation was brought under control with the help of three species of imported parasitoids.

Parasitoids, the organisms that “live in or on the body of a single host individual, eventually killing that individual,” were imported from Puerto Rico and released in the State. The bio control measure proved effective in the State as it could check the pest attack, according to some researchers.

Researchers had earlier identified the presence of nine species of mealybug in the State.

With fresh reports of outbreak of infestation coming in, those at the AINPAO unit at the Kerala Agricultural University have started a mealybug attack mapping project.

The areas of pest attack, infected plants and stages of infestation and species of mealybug responsible for the attack would be mapped during the process. The natural predators for the bugs will also be identified during the process, he said.