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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Papaya crop hit by mealy bug by K Raju

Papaya crop hit by mealy bug by K Raju

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published Published on Aug 1, 2010   modified Modified on Aug 1, 2010

An outbreak of papaya mealy bug has affected hundreds of acres of papaya grown in and around Kannivadi and Reddiyarchatram regions in Dindigul district. Since the bug has caused severe damage to the crops, farmers have incurred huge losses.

The mealy bug is a polyphagous sucking pest that infests crops such as cotton, papaya, tapioca, mulberry, jatropha and other cultivable crops. The pest sucks the sap of the plant and weakens it. The honey dew secreted by the bug results in the formation of a black sooty mould that causes further damage to the crops.

Collection and destruction of mealy bug-affected plants and repeated deep ploughing were some of the quick remedial measures for preventing further spread of it to other plants, said a team of scientists who visited these villages.

Farmers should take up integrated pest management measures on a war footing to prevent further spread, they said.

The team comprised Agriculture College and Research Institute Professors Chinnannan and Ravi Sekaran and researchers from Maize Research Station in Vagarai near Palani.

After inspecting these places, they have advised the farmers to take up series of preventive measures including adoption of repeated ploughing that would help in burying egg masses of the mealy bug in the soil after harvest.

Removal or destruction of weeds such as Parthenium, Acrlifa and Datura would also prevent building up and carrying over of the mealy bug during off- season. Acute care was essential to avoid transportation of mealy bugs through workers and farm equipment used for harvesting. Farmers should also avoid grazing cattle in the harvesting field, they said.

The farmers were also advised to follow integrated pest management measures such as removing alternate weed hosts, regular pruning of severely affected parts of the crop, conserving natural enemies and using botanical insecticides such as neem oil or fish oil.

Similarly, any one of insecticides such as profenophos, chloropyriphos and thiamethoxam could be sprayed in rotation at an interval of 10 to 15 days for effective control of mealy bugs.

If control measures were not taken immediately, the farmers might lose their crop because of high temperature, low humidity, dry wind and no rain, they said.


The Hindu, 2 August, 2010, http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/02/stories/2010080258360100.htm


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