Control of the white mango scale Aulacaspis tubercularis (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Diaspididae) with systemic soil drenching insecticides and pruning in greater than ten years old mangos in western Ethiopia

Abstract

The white mango scale insect (WMS), Aulacaspis tubercularis Newstead, 1906 is a key pest of mango in Ethiopia, which has been spreading throughout the country since its introduction in 2010. Evaluation of the efficacy of two systemic soil drenching insecticides (thiamethoxam 25 % WG and imidacloprid 35 % SC) independently, and in combination with tree management (pruning) for the cont­rol of the WMS was conducted under field conditions in western Ethiopia in two locations in 2018 and 2019. Randomized complete block designs with three replications were used for the experiments. In the first site, all treatments resulted in scale populations that were significantly lower than the control (1086 crawlers and females per leaf). Thiamethoxam 25 % WG at 12 g/tree + pruning resulted in the lowest number of the WMS after the second treatment (43.5 per leaf) followed by thiamethoxam 25 % WG at 18 g/tree + pruning, which was statistically similar. In the second site, imidacloprid 35 % SC + thiamethoxam 25 % WG at 18 g/tree + pruning, resulted in the lowest mean number of the WMS (31.1 per leaf) followed by thiamethoxam 25 % WG at 12 g/tree + pruning (61.4 per leaf). This treatment also gave the highest percentage reduction in number of the WMS compared to the WMS counting before treatment application. This study has shown that use of systemic insecticides and pruning are promising control tactics for the WMS. Cost implications and effects of the insecticides on the natural enemy complex and residual toxicity in fruits need to be evaluated. To cite: Belay Habtegebriel, Dawit Melisie, Hunde Kidane, Teshale Daba & Ferdu Azerefegn. 2020. Control of the white mango scale Aulacaspis tubercularis (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Diaspididae) with systemic soil drenching insecticides and pruning in greater than ten years old mangos in western Ethiopia. Israel Journal of Entomology 50(1): 65–73. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3987792http://zoobank.org/References/8FA7BF70-B678-420B-9E11-3D87C8F16C76