Abstract
Saccharicoccus sacchari (Cockerell, 1895) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is globally disseminated on sugarcane plants. In Brazil, this species has been occurred in the same region as the occurrence of the fungal pathogen causing red rot, Colletotrichum falcatum Went, 1893 (Glomerellales). The objective of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that this pseudococcid could act as a facilitator of the penetration of the phytopathogen C. falcatum. Species of this mealybug were reared at laboratory to infest sugarcane plants during the experiment. A total of 320 sugarcane plants were utilized for this study, 160 of CTC4 and 160 of RB86 7515 cultivars (cv.), each group subdivided into four treatments: (1) infested with mealybugs; (2) infected with fungal conidia; (3) infested with mealybugs and infected with fungal conidia; and (4) control. Biometrics of the plants, disease symptoms, Total Reducing Sugars (TRS) and Reducing Sugar (RS) were evaluated. To both cv., there was no difference in the height and diameter of the plants in all treatments; and only in “mealybug + fungus”, significant difference on the lengths of the disease lesions inside the plants was found to each cv. as well as the levels of TRS and RS. The presence of the pseudococcid increased the incidence of the disease in both cv., although RB86 7515 was more susceptible to red rot than CTC4.
Highlights
IntroductionThe pink sugarcane mealybug (PSMB), Saccharicoccus sacchari (Cockerell, 1895) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) occurs in all the zoogeographic regions except Antarctica, having been reported in every sugarcane crop around the world (García et al, 2017).In Brazil, the fungus of the red rot (FRRD), caused by Colletotrichum falcatum Went, 1893 (Glomerellales) on sugarcane had been registered in the same regions, as the high infestation of this mealybug (Sharma and Tamta, 2015; García et al, 2017).The mealybug initially infests newly-planted sugarcane rhizomes, up to 30 cm of depth; and later, as the plant grows, it forms colonies on the region of the sugarcane nodes under the leaf sheaths (Tohamy et al, 2008)
A total of 320 sugarcane plants were utilized for this study, 160 of CTC4 and 160 of RB86 7515 cultivars, each group subdivided into four treatments: (1) infested with mealybugs; (2) infected with fungal conidia; (3) infested with mealybugs and infected with fungal conidia; and (4) control
Biometrics of the plants, disease symptoms, Total Reducing Sugars (TRS) and Reducing Sugar (RS) were evaluated. To both cv., there was no difference in the height and diameter of the plants in all treatments; and only in “mealybug + fungus”, significant difference on the lengths of the disease lesions inside the plants was found to each cv. as well as the levels of TRS and RS
Summary
The pink sugarcane mealybug (PSMB), Saccharicoccus sacchari (Cockerell, 1895) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) occurs in all the zoogeographic regions except Antarctica, having been reported in every sugarcane crop around the world (García et al, 2017).In Brazil, the fungus of the red rot (FRRD), caused by Colletotrichum falcatum Went, 1893 (Glomerellales) on sugarcane had been registered in the same regions, as the high infestation of this mealybug (Sharma and Tamta, 2015; García et al, 2017).The mealybug initially infests newly-planted sugarcane rhizomes, up to 30 cm of depth; and later, as the plant grows, it forms colonies on the region of the sugarcane nodes under the leaf sheaths (Tohamy et al, 2008). The pink sugarcane mealybug (PSMB), Saccharicoccus sacchari (Cockerell, 1895) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) occurs in all the zoogeographic regions except Antarctica, having been reported in every sugarcane crop around the world (García et al, 2017). In Brazil, the fungus of the red rot (FRRD), caused by Colletotrichum falcatum Went, 1893 (Glomerellales) on sugarcane had been registered in the same regions, as the high infestation of this mealybug (Sharma and Tamta, 2015; García et al, 2017). The mealybug initially infests newly-planted sugarcane rhizomes, up to 30 cm of depth; and later, as the plant grows, it forms colonies on the region of the sugarcane nodes under the leaf sheaths (Tohamy et al, 2008). Puttarydriah (1954) registered plant growth retardation and death of the young sugarcane shoots caused by the PSMB. The insect is a vector of the sugarcane bacilliform virus (SCBV) (Victoria et al, 2005)
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