Mealybugs and their management in agricultural and horticultural crops

M. Mani · C. Shivaraju Editors

Mealybugs
and their
Management in
Agricultural and
Horticultural crops


Mealybugs and their Management
in Agricultural and Horticultural crops



M. Mani • C. Shivaraju
Editors

Mealybugs and their
Management in
Agricultural and
Horticultural crops


Editors
M. Mani
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research
Bangalore, India

C. Shivaraju
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research
Bangalore, India

ISBN 978-81-322-2675-8
ISBN 978-81-322-2677-2
DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2677-2

(eBook)

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Dedicated to my wife Vijayarani who was
involved with the work on mealybugs.
She had helped me to carryout extensive

surveys for mealybugs in different crops in
India. She has also played a major role in
finalising the draft on Mealybugs and their
Management in Agricultural and
Horticultural crops.



Foreword

Crop protection in the present day is as important as crop production. Pests
have plagued mankind from the beginning and will continue to vex the people
and thwart all their endeavors to the end. Mealybugs are sap-sucking insects
named for the powdery secretions covering the bodies. Mealybugs are softbodied insects covered with waxy coating. They are sessile insects. They are
phloem feeders and suck the sap from all plant parts and also transmit some
plant disease thus causing serious economic losses to economically important
crop plants. Many of the mealybugs are arboreal and some are subterranean
feeding on the roots. They are windblown, and the spreading of mealybugs is
facilitated by wind. Within 2 days of hatching, they are also covered by waxy
coating making them hard to get killed with chemicals. Hence they are called
as “hard to kill insects”.
Mealybugs mostly live in protected habitats. They are found in cracks,
crevices inside the fruit clusters, lower surface of the leaves, etc. Since they
live in concealed plant parts, the chemicals will not reach the target pests
making chemical control ineffective. Many a time, mealybugs become abundant in the fruiting phase of the plants. Several applications of insecticides are
needed for mealybug control. Thus frequent application of insecticides for
mealybug control leads to residue problem on the fruits, making unfit for
export and hazardous to domestic market.
This book covers all the basic and applied aspects of the mealybug species
ultimately useful to implement the integrated mealybug management in different agricultural crops. The book covers the information on identification of the

mealybugs, morphology, cytogenetics, taxonomy, molecular characterization
for identification, biology, damage, mealybugs as vectors, seasonal development, natural enemies, culturing of mealybugs, ant association, control measures, insecticide resistance and mealybug management in different crops.
This book on Mealybugs and their Management in Agricultural and
Horticultural crops is first of its kind since there is no comprehensive book
covering all aspects of mealybug available in the world. This will serve as a
guide for crop growers, state goverment officials and other stake holders
industry, besides researchers and students engaged in mealybug research and
development activities.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research
New Delhi 12, India,
July, 2014

N.K. Krishna Kumar

vii



Preface

Mealybugs throughout the world cause a variety of economic problems. The
most obvious damage is caused by the sucking habits of these insects. Heavy
infestations often cause stunting or death to the plant host. At times, mealybugs have toxins and act as vectors of certain viruses detrimental to plant life.
Information on morphology, cytogenetics, taxonomy, molecular characterization for identification, morphology, biology, damage, mealybugs as vectors, seasonal development, natural enemies, culturing of mealybugs, ant
association, control measures, insecticide resistance etc are covered in this
book. It also deals with the all the mealybug management practices, which
include monitoring of mealybugs, use of pheromones, cultural practices,
chemical control and biological suppression available in the world.
We tried to accommodate almost all the important information generated
on the mealybugs up to 2014. A complete list of mealybug occurring in different crop growing regions of the world is also covered in this book, which

will be ready reckoner for the crops. We sincerely hope that this book will
provide useful information to many entomologists and students working on
mealybugs. It is a pleasure to thank all those people who gave help, suggestions and encouragement in the preparation of our book Mealybugs and their
Management in Agricultural and Horticultural crops.
Bangalore, Karnataka, India

M. Mani
C. Shivaraju

ix



Acknowledgements

The beatitude and euphoria that accompanies successful completion of any
task would be incomplete without the expression of appreciation of simple
certitude to the people who made it possible to achieve the goal by their
encouragement and support. We heartily thank Dr. N. K. Krishnakumar,
Deputy Director General of Horticulture, Indian Council of Agricultural
Research, New Delhi, for his technical guidance. We are immensely grateful
to Dr. Amrik Singh Sidhu, Director, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research,
Bangalore, for his genuine guidance, impeccable and scholarly advice, recurring encouragement, sustained interest and above all his affectionate way of
dealing with things throughout the course of writing the book. We wish to
express our extreme and profound sense of gratitude to Dr. Ameriksingh
Siddu, Director, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore.
Karnataka, India, for his valuable suggestions and useful guidance. We take
this opportunity to convey our sincere thanks to Dr. Abraham Verghese,
Director, National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects Resource,
Bangalore, for the encouragement to write this book.

xi



Contents

1

Introduction ...................................................................................
M. Mani and C. Shivaraju

Part I

1

Mealybugs

2

Morphology ...................................................................................
M. Mani and C. Shivaraju

7

3

Cytogenetics ...................................................................................
Ramakrishna Sompalaym, Kokilamani A. Lingarajaiah,
Raju G. Narayanappa, Jayaprakash,

and Venkatachalaiah Govindaiah

19

4

Taxonomy .......................................................................................
M. Mani

55

5

Molecular Identification of Mealybugs .......................................
K.B. Rebijith, R. Asokan, and N.K. Krishna Kumar

75

6

Biology............................................................................................
M. Mani and C. Shivaraju

87

7

Culturing of Mealybugs ................................................................ 107
M. Mani and C. Shivaraju

8

Mode of Spread of Mealybugs ..................................................... 113
M. Mani and C. Shivaraju

9

Damage........................................................................................... 117
M. Mani and C. Shivaraju

10

Mealybugs as Vectors .................................................................... 123
R. Selvarajan, V. Balasubramanian, and B. Padmanaban

11

Economic Importance................................................................... 131
M. Mani and C. Shivaraju

12

Ecology ........................................................................................... 141
M. Mani and C. Shivaraju

13

Natural Enemies of Mealybugs .................................................... 149
A.N. Shylesha and M. Mani

xiii


Contents

xiv

14

Semiochemicals in Mealybugs...................................................... 173
N. Bakthavatsalam

15

Ant Association .............................................................................. 199
M. Mani and C. Shivaraju

16

Methods of Control ....................................................................... 209
M. Mani and C. Shivaraju

17

Insecticide Resistance and Its Management in Mealybugs ....... 223
T. Venkatesan, S.K. Jalali, S.L. Ramya, and M. Prathibha

18

Mealybug Alikes ............................................................................ 231

M. Mani and Shaheen Gul

Part II

Management of Mealybugs in Agricultural
and Horticultural Crops

19

Rice ................................................................................................. 239
Gururaj Katti

20

Wheat ............................................................................................. 247
Srinivasa Babu Kurra, Jeyakumar Ponnuraj,
and Shyam Prasad Gogineni

21

Barley ............................................................................................. 249
M. Mani

22

Groundnut ..................................................................................... 251
G. Harish and M.V. Nataraja

23

Sunflower ....................................................................................... 257
K.S. Jagadish, Chandrashekar, H. Basappa,
G. Basana Gowda, and Y.G. Shadakshari

24

Pulses .............................................................................................. 263
S.K. Singh, S.D. Mohapatra, and P. Duraimurugan

25

Soybean .......................................................................................... 267
M. Mani

26

Cotton ............................................................................................. 271
V.S. Nagrare, S. Kranthi, Rishi Kumar, B. Dharajothi,
M. Amutha, and K.R. Kranthi

27

Jute and Allied Fibre Crops ......................................................... 283
M. Mani and S. Satpathy

28

Sugarcane....................................................................................... 287
R. Jayanthi, J. Srikanth, and S.N. Sushil

29

Fruit Crops: Apple ........................................................................ 297
M. Mani

30

Fruit Crops: Pears ........................................................................ 303
M. Mani


Contents

xv

31

Fruit Crops: Plum ......................................................................... 307
M. Mani

32

Fruit Crops: Peaches .................................................................... 311
M. Mani

33

Fruit Crops: Persimmon .............................................................. 313
M. Mani

34

Fruit Crops: Passion Fruit ........................................................... 317
M. Mani

35

Fruit Crops: Apricot ..................................................................... 319
M. Mani

36

Fruit Crops: Pistachio and Almond ............................................ 321
M. Mani

37

Fruit Crops: Strawberry .............................................................. 327
M. Mani

38

Fruit Crops: Grapevine ................................................................ 329
M. Mani and U. Amala

39

Fruit Crops: Citrus ....................................................................... 353
C.N. Rao, V.J. Shivankar, K.J. David, M. Mani,
and A. Krishnamoorthy

40

Fruit Crops: Guava ....................................................................... 377
M. Mani

41

Fruit Crops: Mango ...................................................................... 385
M. Mani

42

Fruit Crops: Papaya ..................................................................... 395
M. Mani, M. Kalyanasundaram and C. Shivaraju

43

Fruit Crops: Pineapple ................................................................. 411
M. Mani

44

Fruit Crops: Avocado .................................................................... 419
M. Mani

45

Fruit Crops: Banana ..................................................................... 423
B. Padmanaban and M.M. Mustaffa

46

Fruit Crops: Sapota ...................................................................... 429
M. Mani

47

Fruit Crops: Pomegranate ........................................................... 433
M. Mani

48

Fruit Crops: Ber ............................................................................ 439
M. Mani


Contents

xvi

49

Fruit Crops: Custard Apple ......................................................... 443
M. Mani

50

Fruit Crops: Phalsa....................................................................... 447
M. Mani

51

Fruit Crops: Litchi ........................................................................ 449
M. Mani

52

Fruit Crops: Jackfruit .................................................................. 451
M. Mani

53

Vegetable Crops ............................................................................. 455
A. Krishnamoorthy and M. Mani

54

Tuber Crops ................................................................................... 471
M. Mani, M. Kalyanasundaram, C.A. Jayaprakas,
E.R. Harish, R.S. Sreerag, and M. Nedunchezhiyan

55

Ornamental Plants ........................................................................ 495
V. Sridhar, L.S. Vinesh, and M. Mani

56

Orchids ........................................................................................... 525

N.K. Meena, R.P. Medhi, and M. Mani

57

Medicinal Plants ............................................................................ 535
V. Sridhar, L.S. Vinesh, and M. Mani

58

Plantation Crops ........................................................................... 543
Chandrika Mohan, P. Rajan, and A. Josephrajkumar

59

Rubber ........................................................................................... 557
Mani Chellappan

60

Cashew ........................................................................................... 561
V. Ambethgar

61

Oil Palm ......................................................................................... 569
P. Kalidas

62

Spices .............................................................................................. 573

S. Devasahayam and T.K. Jacob

63

Mulberry ........................................................................................ 579
J.B. Narendra Kumar, M.A. Shekhar, and Vinod Kumar

64

Tobacco .......................................................................................... 589
M. Mani and G.N. Rao

65

Jatropha ......................................................................................... 591
M. Mani


Contents

xvii

66

Forage Crops and Grasses ........................................................... 595
Narendra S. Kulkarni and M. Mani

67

Forest Plants .................................................................................. 607

R. Sundararaj and M. Mani

68

Glasshouse, Greenhouse and Polyhouse Crops .......................... 621
K. Gopalakrishna Pillai

69

Root Mealybugs ............................................................................. 629
Maicykutty Mathew and M. Mani

70

Coffee ............................................................................................. 643
P.K. Vinod Kumar, G.V. Manjunath Reddy, H.G. Seetharama,
and M.M. Balakrishnan



List of Tables

Table 4.1
Table 4.2
Table 5.1
Table 5.2

List of mealybug species with field-identifying
characters with their respective images ..............................
List of mealybug species, correct identity of which

led to a successful biological control. ................................
Primers employed in DNA barcoding of mealybugs .........
Maximum composite likelihood estimate
of the pattern of nucleotide substitution from
29 species of mealybugs.....................................................

59
72
80

81

Table 10.1

Mealybug transmitted plant viruses ................................... 127

Table 13.1
Table 13.2

List of predators recorded on the mealybugs ..................... 154
List of some important encyrtid parasitoids
of mealybugs ...................................................................... 166
List of entomopathogens and entomopathogenic
nematodes recorded on mealybugs .................................... 168

Table 13.3
Table 14.1

Pheromone compounds identified from different
species of mealybugs.......................................................... 178

Table 19.1

List of mealybug species recorded on rice
in different regions of the world ......................................... 240

Table 20.1

List of mealybugs recorded on wheat ................................ 248

Table 22.1

List of mealybugs reported on groundnut
in different countries .......................................................... 252

Table 24.1

List of mealybugs recorded on pigeon pea......................... 264

Table 25.1

List of mealybugs recorded on soybean ............................. 268

Table 26.1

Mealybug species recorded on cotton in different
regions of the world............................................................ 272

Table 27.1

List of mealybugs recorded on Kapok
in different countries .......................................................... 284

Table 28.1

List of mealybugs recorded on sugarcane
in different regions of the world ......................................... 288

xix


List of Tables

xx

Table 29.1

List of mealybug species infecting apple
in different regions of the world ......................................... 298

Table 30.1

List of mealybugs recorded on pears
in different countries .......................................................... 304

Table 38.1

Mealybug species recorded on grapevine
in different regions of the world ......................................... 330
List of insecticides recommended to control

mealybugs .......................................................................... 340

Table 38.2
Table 39.1

List of mealybug species recorded on citrus
in different regions of the world ......................................... 354

Table 40.1

List of mealybugs recorded on guava
in different countries .......................................................... 378

Table 41.1

List of mealybugs recorded on mango
in different countries .......................................................... 386

Table 42.1

List of mealybugs recorded on papaya
in different regions of the world ......................................... 396
List of natural enemies on Paracoccus
marginatus .......................................................................... 400

Table 42.2
Table 43.1

List of mealybugs recorded in pine apple
in different countries .......................................................... 412

Table 45.1

List of mealybugs recorded on banana
in different countries .......................................................... 424

Table 46.1

List of mealybugs recorded on sapota
in different countries .......................................................... 430

Table 47.1

List of mealybugs recorded on pomegranate
in different regions of the world ......................................... 434

Table 48.1

List of mealybugs recorded on ber
in different countries .......................................................... 440

Table 49.1

List of mealybugs recorded on custard apple
in different countries .......................................................... 444

Table 51.1

List of mealybugs recorded on Litchi
in different countries .......................................................... 449

Table 52.1

List of mealybugs recorded on Jackfruit
in different regions ............................................................. 452
Nipaecoccus viridis and its natural enemies
on Jack fruit ........................................................................ 452

Table 52.2
Table 53.1

List of mealybugs recorded on tomato
in different countries .......................................................... 456


List of Tables

xxi

Table 53.2
Table 53.3
Table 53.4
Table 54.1
Table 54.2
Table 54.3

List of mealybugs recorded on eggplant ............................ 458
List of mealybugs recorded on okra in
different countries .............................................................. 461
List of mealybug occurring on different

vegetable crops ................................................................... 464
List of mealybug species reported on cassava
in different regions ............................................................. 472
List of natural enemies recorded on P. manihoti,
F.virgata, and Ph.solenopsis infesting cassava................... 476
List of mealybugs recorded on tuber crops
other than cassava............................................................... 487

Table 55.1

List of some mealybugs recorded on different
ornamental plants ............................................................... 496

Table 56.1

List of mealybugs reported on orchids
in different regions ............................................................. 526

Table 57.1

Various medicinal and aromatic plants infested
with different mealybugs .................................................... 538

Table 58.1
Table 58.2

Mealybugs recorded on Palms ........................................... 544
List of mealybugs recorded on cocoa
in different countries .......................................................... 550
List of mealybugs recorded on tea ..................................... 554

Table 58.3
Table 59.1

List of mealybugs recorded on rubber
in different countries .......................................................... 558

Table 60.1

List of mealybugs recorded on cashew
in different countries .......................................................... 562

Table 61.1

List of mealybugs recorded on oil palm
in different countries .......................................................... 570

Table 62.1

List of mealybug species recorded on
different spice crops ........................................................... 574

Table 63.1

List of mealybug species recorded on mulberry
in different regions in the world ......................................... 580

Table 64.1

List of mealybugs recorded on tobacco.............................. 590

Table 66.1

List of mealybugs attacking the grasses
and fodder crops ................................................................. 596

Table 67.1

List of mealybug species infesting
different forest plants ......................................................... 614

Table 69.1

List of other root mealybugs on different
host plants in different countries ........................................ 630

Table 70.1

List of mealybugs recorded on coffee from
different countries .............................................................. 644



About the Editors

Dr. M. Mani is an agricultural scientist with over
35 years of R&D experience in the entomological
research. He has served in Indian Council of
Agricultural Research and Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University. His focal subject is pest control in horticultural crops including grapes. He has done work

on mealybugs for 35 years. Currently, he is an
Emeritus Professor of ICAR, New Delhi. He got
seven awards including lifetime achievement for
his contribution to the research in horticulture entomology. He is associated with five scientific bodies.
The author has published two books in 2013: (1) A Wonder Predator
(Cryptolaemus) by Lap Lambert Academic Publishing Company, Germany
(2) The Grape Entomology by Springer.
Dr. C. Shivaraju has worked extensively on insects
infesting several agricultural and horticultural
crops in Indian Institute of Horticultural Research
and National Bureau of Agriculturally Important
Insects both located at Bangalore. Particularly, he
contributed significantly in research on eucalyptus
and papaya pest management. He has co-authored
two books: A Wonder Predator (Cryptolaemus) and
The Grape Entomology.

xxiii


1

Introduction
M. Mani and C. Shivaraju

Mealybugs belong to the insect group that is
commonly known as scale insects; They have
soft segmented oval bodies, but without an outer
shell. Mealybugs (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha,
Coccoidea, Pseudococcidae, and Putoidae) are

small, soft-bodied plant sap-sucking insects. The
name mealybug is descriptive of the insect’s
body, which is covered by a white sticky powder
resembling cornmeal. Their common name is
derived from the mealy wax secretion that usually covers their bodies (Kosztarab and Kozár
1988). Because of their appearance, mealybugs
are often confused for cushionscale insects or
woolyaphids. Unlike their close relative scale
insects, mealybugs retain their legs throughout
their lives.
Mealybugs feed on a variety of herbaceous
and woody plants, including the angiosperm,
gymnosperm, and fern families. Most of the
mealybugs are arboreal and some are subterranean feeding on the roots. They are phloem feeders and suck the sap from all plant parts and also
transmit some plant disease, thus causing serious
economic losses to economically important crop
plants. Mealybugs take in great quantities of plant
fluids and therefore excrete a lot of liquid waste
called honey that supports the growth of a black
M. Mani (*) • C. Shivaraju
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research,
Bangalore 560089, India
e-mail:

fungus called sooty due to which a significant
infestation of mealybug creates a black, sticky
mess. Most of the economically important mealybug species are known to be associated with
long lists of host plants, and the development of
high population density, which eventually would
kill the host plant. Plant growth conditions may

strongly affect the development of the mealybug.
Flowering and fruiting phases of plant support
heavy mealybug population. Likewise, hot
weather favors rapid multiplication resulting in
the outbreak of mealybug population.
Many of the mealybugs show sexual dimorphism but parthenogenetic mode of reproduction
is also observed in some species of mealybugs.
Mealybugs may be oviparous or viviparous or
ovoviparous. The eggs are usually laid in loose
masses of cottony wax or felt-like ovisacs. Some
species bear living young. Only newly hatched
mealybugs, also called as crawlers, are not covered with wax coating, moving from one part to
another within the plant and also between plants;
this is the most vulnerable stage for chemical
control. They are windblown, and the spreading
of mealybugs is facilitated by wind. Within two
days, they are also covered by waxy coating,
making them hard to get killed with chemicals.
There are three nymphal instars in female and
four in male mealybugs also covered with wax.
Adult male and female mealybugs are completely
different from each other. Adult female mealybugs are characteristically elongate, oval, soft,

© Springer India 2016
M. Mani, C. Shivaraju (eds.), Mealybugs and their Management in Agricultural
and Horticultural crops, DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2677-2_1

1