Credit: Biovision-Infonet
Information on Pests
Biological methods of plant protection
The worst pests for mangoes include fruit flies, cotton scales, mealybugs, cicadas and black flies (create honey dew). They can cause a lot of damage. Yet they all have natural enemies, such as e.g. ladybird larvae, wasps, spiders and parasitic fungi (e.g. with cicadas and black flies).
An ecological plantation with a variety of crops and a sufficient amount of vegetation cover will provide enough natural enemies to combat the pests that measures against them unnecessary. Cicadas are averse to open, well ventilated soil, also drain the soil well to avoid wet patches.
In emergencies, the following methods should help:
Scale insects can be regulated with a ‘winter-spraying’, i.e. with paraffin oil (white oil) shortly before the larvae hatch from their eggs. The paraffin oil is sprayed on as a 3 % water emulsion.
Plant spraying mixtures made of stinging nettles or neem can be used against cicadas. The worst damage occurs during blossoming, so the plantation should be checked regularly around this time in order to make up the brew and spray it early enough.
Mealybugs lay their eggs on the ground next to the trunk. By wrapping smooth plastic bands around the trunk, the larvae can be prevented from infesting too large an area. Should they infest the tree, a solution of 1% soft soap (potassium soap) is quite effective.
Black fly can be kept under control by useful insects. A variety of prospatella species can be of use here. This requires a good functioning control system, because the useful larvae need to be made available for release in time. Where this is not possible, spraying white oil shortly before the pests hatch, as such as with scale insects can be sufficient.