A survey of mealybugs infesting South-Brazilian wine vineyards

Abstract

a b s t r a c tMealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) are important pests of the grapevine Vitis spp. and are responsible for direct and indirect damage to production. The main mealybug species present in wine grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) in Southern Brazil were identified and their incidence evaluated. Bunch-samples (n = 50) from 131 vineyards located in the Serra Gaúcha Region (RS) of Brazil were analyzed at harvest, and the occurrence of mealybugs in the roots was evaluated at the time of eradication of plants for replanting. Mealybugs were reared in laboratory until adulthood for species determination. The species Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell, 1983), Dysmicoccus sp., Planococcus citri (Risso, 1813), Pl. minor (Maskell, 1897), Pseudococcus viburni (Signoret, 1875) and Pseudococcus sp. were identified in bunches. Dysmicoccus sp., D. umbambae Granara de Willink, 2009, Pl. citri and Pseudococcus sp. were found in the roots. Pl. citri (31.4%) and Dysmicoccus sp. (22.7%) were the most common species found in wine grape bunches in the Serra Gaúcha Region.

Comparative development and reproduction of Planococcus ficus and Planococcus citri (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) on grapevine under field conditions

“…Interactions between insect pests sharing the same ecological niche resulted in competitive displacement (McClure, ) and fitness reduction (McClure & Price, ) in some hemipteran sap‐feeders. The recent record of P. ficus in Brazilian vineyards will provide more insights with respect to its establishment in vineyards already infested by mealybugs and its coexistence with P. citri (Pacheco da Silva et al ., ), which was so far the predominant mealybug species (Morandi Filho et al ., ).…”

“…These include the vine mealybug Planococcus ficus (Signoret), grape mealybug Pseudococcus maritimus (Ehrhorn), obscure mealybug Pseudococcus viburni (Signoret), long‐tailed mealybug Pseudococcus longispinus (Targioni‐Tozzetti), citrophilus mealybug Pseudococcus calceolariae (Maskell), citrus mealybug Planococcus citri (Risso) and pink pineapple mealybug Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) (Walton & Pringle, ; Charles et al ., ; Daane et al ., ; Morandi Filho et al ., ). Planococcus ficus is a key pest in most grape‐growing areas (the Mediterranean basin, California, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa and the Middle East) (Dalla Montà et al ., ; Walton et al ., ; Daane et al ., ; Mansour et al ., ), whereas P. citri is reported as a grape pest in few countries (Brazil, Chile, India and Spain) (Morandi Filho et al ., , ; Cid et al ., ; Daane et al ., ; Correa et al ., ; Gallardo et al ., ). Mixed populations of both citrus and vine mealybugs have been reported in Tunisia (Mahfoudhi & Dhouibi, ; Mansour et al ., ) where P. ficus is considered as the key, most devastating mealybug species (Mansour et al ., ).…”

Integrative taxonomy methods reveal high mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) diversity in southern Brazilian fruit crops

“…brevipes was often found associated with grapes and weeds roots. Pseudococcus viburni is an important pest species infesting vineyards in southern part of South America, including Brazil and Chile 16 , 18 , 22 . The species is probably native to Brazil 28 , 29 , where it presents substantial morphological variation, in life and in slide-mounted specimens, and intraspecific genetic variation at both the 28S and COI genes 18 , 23 .…”

“…Additionally, mealybugs are responsible for virus transmission of diseases, such as grapevine leafroll-associated viruses (GLRaVs) 10 , 14 . Scale insects have been associated with damaged fruit previously in Brazil 15 , 16 . In southern Brazil, mealybug population outbreaks are becoming increasingly common 17 , and preliminary reports have been carried out on vineyards 16 , 18 , but the lack of information on mealybugs currently threatens any prospects for integrated pest management in the area.…”

Vine and citrus mealybug pest control based on synthetic chemicals. A review

“…2), is an economically important insect pest in Mediterranean citrus orchards (Franco et al 2004;Jacas et al 2010;Karamaouna et al 2010;Kütük et al 2014;Mansour et al 2017a;Zappalà 2010) and in other citrusgrowing areas of the world (Gill et al 2013;Kerns et al 2001;Rao et al 2006;Wakgari and Giliomee 2003). It has also been reported to attack and damage grapevines in Italy (Bertin et al 2016;Dalla Montà et al 2001), France, Portugal, Greece (Sforza 2008), Spain (Cabaleiro and Segura 1997;Cid et al 2010), Tunisia (Mansour et al 2017a), and Brazil (Morandi Filho et al 2015;Pacheco-da-Silva et al 2014). The number and distribution of the multilocular disc pores and tubular ducts in the adult females can be used for morphological discrimination between P. ficus and P. citri, although genetic analysis is probably easier to apply (Cavalieri et al 2008;Daane et al 2011;Mansour et al 2011aMansour et al , 2012b.…”