Cochenilles

Class: Les insectes
Common Name: Cochenilles
Scientific Name: Members of the Pseudococcidae and Putoidae families
Potential Host:

Apple, grapevines, peppers, eggplant, basil, mint, sage, papaya, cucumber, potatoes, barbary fig (and other cactaceae members), rose, mango, pineapple, squash, citrus, sugarcane, coffee, palms, cassava, sunflower, pear, blueberry, raspberry, mulberry, banana, and cocoa

Symptoms:

They feed on the phloem by sucking sap from plants. Symptoms appear as small white patches on stems and fruits, followed by the formation of honeydew and the development of sooty mold near infected areas. Mealybugs are known for their ability to transmit plant viruses and can cause heavy losses to economically important crops.

Who Am I?

Considered to be a soft scale insects, mealybugs derived their name from their appearance. Usually, mealybugs are covered with a sticky wax floury or cornmeal-like whitish powder. Some species reproduce sexualy, while others are parthenogenic. Mealybugs may be oviparous, viviparous, or ovoviviparous. Their eggs are usually laid in loose masses of cottony wax ovisacs. The flowering and fruiting phases of plants help support a larger mealybug population.

Mealybug species of economical importance include: pink hibiscus mealybug, miscanthus mealybug, papaya mealybug, vine mealybug, and citrus mealybug.

Control Measures

Les méthodes de gestion des cochenilles varient en fonction de la plante hôte et, dans une certaine mesure, du genre. Néanmoins, certaines mesures sont généralisées.

Utiliser des techniques de surveillance des ravageurs (tels que des pièges) pour suivre les populations d’insectes.

Utilisez des pièges disponibles dans le commerce conçus pour la capture en masse. Les pièges ne constituent une alternative équitable aux traitements conventionnels que s’ils s’accompagnent d’une surveillance systématique.

Contrôle: Les fourmis aident à la propagation et à l’établissement des colonies de cochenilles farineuses. Les fourmis sont attirées par le miellat et peuvent avoir un effet suppressif sur les ennemis de la cochenille.

Assainissement: Gardez l’environnement proche des cultures en éliminant les mauvaises herbes, les débris de plantes, les parties endommagées, la croissance indésirable des plantes et les plantes à proximité qui ne sont ni cultivées ni protégées.

Les produits utilisés dans une ou plusieurs régions du monde peuvent contenir les ingrédients suivants :

sulfoxaflore, spirotétramat, buprofezine, extrait de chenopodium, chlorpyrifos, imidaclopride, thiaméthoxame, acétamipride, et thiachlopride.

huile de neem, huile d’arbre à thé, huile minérale, and détergents (savon industriel) spécialement conçu pour un usage agricole.

Insectes utiles disponibles dans le commerce, tels que pseudocoques anagyrus, leptomastix dactylopii, et le stade larvaire du prédateur coccinellidé cryptolaemus montrouzieri.

* Remarque : il est vivement recommandé de contrôler les populations de fourmis avant de libérer des ennemis naturels de la cochenille.

*Names marked in red are considered to be highly poisonous to beneficial insects.

*Names marked in green are considered to be organic and IPM (integrated pest management) compatible.

Caution and careful notice should be taken when using any plant protection products (insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides). It is the grower’s sole responsibility to keep track of the legal uses and permissions with respect to the laws in their country and destination markets. Always read the instructions written on labels, and in a case of contradiction, work in accordance to the product label. Keep in mind that information written on the label usually applies to local markets. Pest control products intended for organic farming are generally considered to be less effective in comparison to conventional products. When dealing with organic, biologic, and to some extent a small number of conventional chemical products, a complete eradication of a pest or disease will often require several iterations of a specific treatment or combination of treatments.

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