Insect Pests of Fruits, Plantation, Medicinal & Aromatic Crops

1.Mango hoppers

1.Mango hoppers- Idioscopus niveosparsus Leth, I.clypealis Leth and Amritodes atkinsoni Leth.

( Cicadellidae : Hemiptera )

Damage

• Both nymphs and adults suck the sap from tender shoots and inflorescence resulting in withering and shedding of flower buds and flowers leads to wilting and drying of shoots and leaves.
• The flower stalks and leaves of infested trees become sticky due to the deposition of honey-dew secreted by the hoppers that encourages the growth of black sooty mould on foliage and other plant parts.
• The peak activity is confined during blossom and the loss ranges from 25 to 60 %. During the off - season, the hoppers congregate on newly developed shoots and suck the sap, results in malformation the leaves feeding on them.
• As a consequence, leaves become malformed and undersized.
• The hoppers take shelter in cracks and crevices on the barks during non-flowering season.
Bionomics

• Of these three species, A. atkinsoni is the largest one occurring right through the year and other two species have been observed to be mostly present during the blooming of the tree.
• The largest A. atkinsoni has two spots on scutellum while the smalll. clypealis has two spots on scutellum and dark spot on the vertex, while the least sized 1 . niveosparsus has three spots on scutellum.
• The adult hopper is light greenish-brown with black and yellow markings, wedge shaped with broad head measures 3-4 mm in length.
• It inserts the eggs singly into the plant tissues of young leaves, shoots, flower stalks and unopened flowers.
• A female lays about 200 eggs.
• The eggs hatch in 4-7 days.
• The nymph with red eyes appeared while yellowish green to greenish brown during the 5 instar occupying 8-13 days.
• The total life cycle from egg to adult takes 2-3 weeks for completion.





Management

• Grow less susceptible varieties viz., Banganapalli, Chinnarasam and Alphonsa.
• Avoid close planting, as the incidence is very severe in overcrowded and neglected orchards.
• Spray two rounds, of acephate 75 SP at 1 g /litre or phoasalone 35 EC at 1.5 ml / litre or carbaryl 50 WP at 42 g / litre of water, first round at the time of new flesh panicle emergence and 2nd at two weeks after the first spray.
• Spray wettable sulphur at 2 g / litre of water after spraying carbaryl to avoid mite resurgence
• Collect and destroy affected inflorescence or sticky inflorescence to minimize population build-up.