Category Archives: Mango Pests
CH 1. Information on pests
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 […]
Bark eating termites
Bark eating termites Credit: Biovision-Infonet They are generally associated with old mango trees. They may damage branches and other parts by tunnelling the wood, but usually are not of economic importance. Sickly, injured plants are more likely to be damaged than healthy, vigorous plants.What to do: Provide good growing conditions for the trees. Termites more […]
Red banded thrips
Red banded thrips (Selenothrips rubrocinctus) Credit: Biovision-Infonet The adult of the red banded thrips is reported as a pest of mangoes in Kenya (AIC, 2003). Adult thrips are dark brown, about 1 mm long. Immature thrips (nymphs) are yellow with a bright red band around the base of the abdomen. Nymphs and adults feed together, […]
Spider mites
Spider mites (Tetranychus spp.) Credit: Biovision-Infonet They can damage maize and fruit trees from the seedling stage to maturity. The presence of small, faint yellow blotches on the lower leaves is an indication of spider mite injury. As the colonies of mites increase in size they cause the lower leaves to become dry. The mites then […]
Mango leaf coating mite
Mango leaf coating mite (Cisaberoptus kenyae) Credit: Biovision-Infonet The mango leafcoating mite is tiny (about 0.2 mm), light coloured and cigar shaped. It cannot be seen with the naked eye. The mites leave in groups under a white coating on the upper leaf surface. The white coating can be easily rubbed off by hand. Leaves […]
Helopeltis bugs
Helopeltis bugs (Helopeltis schoutedeni and H. anacardii) Credit: Biovision-Infonet Helopeltis bugs, also known as mosquito bugs or mirid bugs are slender, delicate insects, about 7- 10 mm long with long legs and antennae, the antenna being nearly twice as long as the body. The females are red and the males brown to yellowish red. They lay eggs inserted into the soft […]
Bugs
Bugs Credit: Biovision-Infonet Several species of bugs feed on mangoes. Both adults and nymphs (young stages) feed inserting their needle-like mouthparts in young tissue, causing dieback and tip wilting. Other feed on the fruit, causing fruit fall and fruit deformation. Coconut bug (Pseudotheraptus wayi) It feed on fruits. Damaged young fruits show dark brown or grey […]
Scales
Scales Credit: Biovision-Infonet Scales are small (1 to 7 mm long), generally immobile insects, varying in colour and shape according to the species. Female scales have neither wings nor legs. They resemble small shells glued to the plant. Females lay eggs under their scale. Once hatched, the tiny scales (known as crawlers) emerged from under […]
Mealybugs
Mealybugs (Rastrococcus spp.) Credit: Biovision-Infonet Mealybugs are small, flat, soft bodied insects covered with a distinctive segmentation. Their body is covered with a white woolly secretion. They suck sap from tender leaves, petioles and fruits. Seriously attacked leaves turn yellow and eventually dry. This can lead to shedding of leaves, inflorescences, and young fruit. Mealybugs excrete honeydew […]