Water spray for control of papaya mealy bug

Mulberry farmers face difficulties in controlling papaya mealy bug because it escapes from insecticides and its natural enemies as it secretes and embeds in thick waxy masses.

Monsoon failure followed by prolonged drought and increase in temperature also encourage its heavy population build-up and further spread to newer areas and neighbouring states.

Deformed leaves

The bugs suck the sap of mulberry plants both from stems and leaves resulting in deformation of leaves and stunted growth which reduce the rearing capacity of the silkworm.

The dense waxy coating secreted by the pest and development of sooty mould pollute the garden in case of severe infestation. Feeding papaya mealy bug infested mulberry leaves also affects the growth and development of silkworm and cocoon formation.

Application of strong jet of water using a power sprayer is generally recommended to manage the sucking pests. Though the practice is effective, it is not popular as it is time consuming, laborious and it is a drudgery to fetch bulk quantities of water.

Hence an effective and user friendly water jetting technology has been developed eliminating the above drawbacks, in which jetting is effectively done by diverting a portion of irrigation water through a suitable length of one inch garden hose attached to the pipeline outlet opening in the irrigation channel.

A strong jet of water through the garden hose is obtained by partially blocking water flow into the irrigation channel using a gate valve.

Jetting is done by attaching a jet gun to the end of hose or by blocking half circle of the hose end using thumb, the jet of water is targeted towards the pest population. The plants are thoroughly drenched to get an instant result for complete elimination of the pest.

Effective

The strong jet of water effectively dislodges and washes out cent per cent of the pest population along with its waxy masses and sooty mould from the plants.

As the jetted water flows into the root zone of the plants they are simultaneously irrigated and hence water is not wasted. The system may also conveniently be adopted for agricultural and horticultural crops.

N.Sakthivel & R.Balakrishna

Research Extension Center

Central Silk Board, Srivilliputtur & Regional Sericultural Research Station, Salem, Tamil Nadu