Abstract
The aimed of this investigation was to estimate the seasonal abundance and activity periods of the cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley and its associated parasitoid on okra plants. The present experiment was conducted at Hihhya distract, Sharkia Governorate during two consecutive seasons 2017 and 2018. Plant samples were taken weekly to calculate the population density of different stages of tested pest and its parasitoid, the effect of some weather factors, the number of generations and the best leaf surface. The present work was found a reverse relation between the populations of the cotton mealybug (CMB) and its associated parasitoids. The population dynamic of CMB was high while the population of its parasitoids was low in the first season. On the other hand, the opposite results were obtained during the second season. The P. solenopsis had two to three generations during the first and second seasons, respectively. There was significantly positive correlation between maximum temperature and the population females of this insect whereas, a significant negative correlation was found with mean of relative humidity during the period of this investigation.The results of this study may help the researchers for designing a comprehensive pest management program and prediction models for the cotton mealybug to restrict their further spread.
Highlights
Okra plant, Ablmoschus esculentus L., is one of the most important Malvaceae crops which used as human food in Egypt, which infested by polyphagous mealybug throughout the growing season
The results of this study may help the researchers for designing a comprehensive pest management program and prediction models for the cotton mealybug to restrict their further spread
The P. solenopsis had found on a wide range of vegetable crops including species of economically important families such as Malvaceae, Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae which reported by many authors such as Abd-Rabou et al (2010), Wang et al, (2010), Zhu et al, (2011), Ibrahim et al, (2015), Nabil et al, (2015) and
Summary
Ablmoschus esculentus L., is one of the most important Malvaceae crops which used as human food in Egypt, which infested by polyphagous mealybug throughout the growing season. The P. solenopsis had found on a wide range of vegetable crops including species of economically important families such as Malvaceae, Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae which reported by many authors such as Abd-Rabou et al (2010), Wang et al, (2010), Zhu et al, (2011), Ibrahim et al, (2015), Nabil et al, (2015) and. Despite of the economic importance of cotton mealybug, which caused considerable economic damage to agriculture and vegetable plants, the researchers are interested in studying the ecology and activity periods of this insect to select the most suitable time to control. The current study aimed to determine some ecological parameters of the different stages of this insect and its associated parasitoids on okra plants during 2017 and 2018 seasons. This study may help the researchers in the integrated pest management against the cotton mealybug and prediction models for this pest
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