Suppression of white mango scale, Aulacaspis tubercularis (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) on mango trees in El-Beheira Governorate,‎ Egypt.

Abstract

White mango scale, Aulacaspis tubercularis Newstead (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) is a serious pest on mango (Mangifera spp.), (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae) which became recently a troublesome pest in all mango orchards in Egypt. It causes fatal damage especially to late cultivars by sucking leaves which turn pale-green or yellow and ultimately die or fruit causing conspicuous pink blemishes around insect feeding sites resulting in external lesions rendering it unmarketable for export. Seasonal abundance was estimated throughout 2 successive years (2008 and 2009) and showed that the white mango scale (A. tubercularis) had four peaks for its population density during the two studied years, (April, August, October and December, 2008) and (March, July, September and December, 2009). Study of weather factors, [daily mean temperature (o C), relative humidity (%), dew point (o C) and wind speed (Km/h)] effects on A.tubercularis population density illustrated that there was significant positive relationship between (daily mean temperature and relative humidity) and counted population density, but there was a significant negative relationship between (wind speed and dew point) and counted population density. Two successive field experiments for eight weeks during early spring (2009-2010) aimed to test some summer/light mineral oils, (super masrona ® , CAPL2 ® and Diver ®) against A. tubercularis on mango trees. The tested mineral oils were effective by the following descending order : Diver > CAPL2 ® > super masrona ® without significant differences between diver and CAPL2 and significant differences with super masrona, with the same effective trend and same statistical means, during the two seasonal experiments. The study recorded a little numbers of natural enemies (Parasitoids (Aphytis mytilaspidis (Le Baron) and Encarsia citrina (Craw) (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)), and predators (Chilocorus bipustulatus (L.) and Scymnus syriacus Marseul (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)). It may be killed by previous bad history of chemical insecticides usage in this area.

A Review of White Mango Scale (Aulacaspis tubercularis Newstead; Hemiptera: Diaspididae) in Sub-Saharan Africa: Distribution, Impact and Management Strategies

“…Several natural enemies have been reported to be highly effective in the management of white mango scale. Examples of these natural enemies include Cybocephalus binotatus, Aphytis chionaspis, A. mytilaspidis, Encarsia citrine, Chilocorus, Scymnus syriacus, Sukunahikona prapawan, Rhyzobius pulchellus, R. lophanthae, Pteroptrix koebelei, and Aleurodothrips fasciapennis (Daneel and Dreyer, 1997;Mani and Krishnamoorthy, 1998;Abo-Shanab, 2012;Sayed, 2012;Hamdy, 2016;Djirata, 2017;CABI, 2019). Biological methods offer sustainable pest management because once introduced, the predators are capable of breeding and multiplying themselves in the farmer fields.…”

“…The use of oil-based products is also taking shape and has been trialed in open and closed fields and found to reduce population of A. tubercularis. For instance, during a trial aimed at suppressing white mango scale on mango trees in El-Beheira Governorate of Egypt, Abo-Shanab (2012) reported that Super Masrona oil® 95%, CAPL2 oil® 96.62% and Diver oil® 97% products could reduce the population of this pest by 90.15%, 93.55% and 95.43% respectively (Figure 5). Mendoza-Montero et al (2017) also reported up to 98% mortality of white mango scale when sprayed with mineral oil.…”

“…Being an invasive pest, the information about the pest and its management practices is less available for researchers, policymakers, and farmers in the SSA region. In fact, most research work in the region has focused around assessing the distribution and population dynamics (Babege et al, 2017;Djirata et al, 2019;Teshale et al, 2019) with a few trying to answer questions around management practices (Abo-Shanab, 2012;Ayalew et al, 2015). The coverage of these type of research is narrow in the region, mainly in Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa.…”

Influence of Pre-Harvest Bagging on the Incidence of Aulacaspis tubercularis Newstead (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) and Fruit Quality in Mango

“…This armored scale is currently the main pest in the Spanish mango orchards and one of the most important pests of this crop worldwide in tropical and even subtropical regions [8]. A. tubercularis causes conspicuous pink blemishes on the epidermis of the ripe mango fruits [10,11], which affect their commercial value [12,13]. Some estimates suggest that A. tubercularis can cause important economic losses in the Spanish organic mango orchards, which may exceed 40% in late-ripening cultivars [14].…”

Manejo integrado del cultivo de mango Mangifera indica L.

“…Oidium mangiferae, llamada comúnmente mildeo polvoso o cenicilla, interviene desde el amarre hasta la formación de frutos, ocasionando disminución en la producción; estas pérdidas pueden llegar al 90 % (7). En plagas, Aulacaspis tubercularis L. puede causar pérdidas superiores al 50 % por la presencia de manchas cloróticas en la epidermis de la fruta (8), trips en estados inmaduros y adultos generan daños en los frutos y en las inflorescencias como necrosis y caída de estructuras florales, en hojas más tiernas ocasionan deformación de la lámina y necrosis que llevan a la muerte de las ramas (9,10). Para controlar estos daños, por lo general los productores usan estrategias como: el control químico aplicando insecticidas, herbicidas, nematicidas y fungicidas, práctica que ha venido creciendo desde el año 1945.…”