Cassava mealybug on cassava-Kenya: Phenacoccus manihoti;
Publication: PlantwisePlus Knowledge Bank
Pest Management Decision Guides
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Prevention
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Avoid the use of infested plant materials. Before planting, cuttings can be treated by immersing them in heated water (mix equal volumes of boiling and cold water) for 5 to 10 minutes to kill the pest
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If available, plant varieties that are less susceptible to the pest
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Plant early in the rainy season to allow the cassava plant to grow well, before the dry season, as strong plants are more likely to withstand pest attack
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Use soil amendments and mulch to avoid moisture stress in sandy or poor soils. Mealybug numbers are higher on cassava grown on poor soil, and may cause damage in spite of the presence of natural enemies
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Restrict movement of infested planting materials across borders or mealybug-free areas
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If possible, avoid planting cassava for more than 3 years on the same piece of land. Rotate with maize and legumes
Monitoring
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Check crop weekly for mealybugs on shoots, stems and leaves
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The adult females and larvae will be visible on the stem and leaves. They are oval in shape, pinkish in colour and covered in a white, powdery wax
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Symptoms on the plant include stunting, wilting, leaf distortion, leaf fall, rosetting of the stem, bunchy top and dieback
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Ants may also be present as they protect the mealybugs and feed on the honeydew they produce
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Black sooty mould may grow on the leaves and stem in the presence of honeydew
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Take action when you notice white waxy material on shoot tips, leaves and stems or any signs of mealybugs
Direct Control
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Remove and destroy infested plants or plant parts at early stages of infestation
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Prune stems or leaves with high infestation and burn or bury more than 50 cm deep
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Mix 5 g of soap (alata samina) + 5 g of powdered pepper in 1 litre of water and leave it for about 30 minutes. Pour the mixture into knapsack and apply in 15 litres of water
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Apply neem oil e.g. Grow-safe. Add 10 ml soap to 1 litre of water and stir to mix. Add 50 ml neem oil to the 1 litre water-soap solution and mix thouroughly. Add the oil-water-soap solution to 14 litres water in the knapsack and apply within 8 hrs. Ensure thorough coverage
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If possible, use natural enemies such as the parasitic wasp Apoanagyrus lopezi and ladybirds
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Control ants as these will reduce the amount of natural predators
Direct Control
No chemicals are registered in Kenya for cassava mealybugs
Indexing Terms
Descriptors
- amendments
- arthropod pests
- biological control
- biological control agents
- botanical insecticides
- burning
- cassava
- control
- cultivars
- cultural control
- extension
- hot water treatment
- insect control
- insect pests
- insecticides
- monitoring
- mulches
- mulching
- natural enemies
- parasites
- parasitoids
- pest control
- pest management
- pesticides
- pests
- physical control
- plant oils
- plant pests
- planting date
- planting season
- predators
- predatory insects
- pruning
- rotations
- soaps
- soil
- soil amendments
- varietal resistance
- varieties
Organism Descriptors
Identifiers
- climate smart agriculture
- ants
- Apoanagyrus lopezi
- biocontrol agents
- biological control organisms
- cassava mealybug
- cultivated varieties
- ladybirds
- ladybugs
- pest arthropods
- pest insects
- pest management decision guides
- predaceous insects
- predacious insects
- tapioca plant
- wasps
- biocontrol
- flaming
- manioc
- advisory services
- extension activities
- mulching materials
- vegetable oils
- crop rotation
- rotational cropping
- subsaharan Africa
Geographical Locations
Broader Terms
- Anagyrus
- Encyrtidae
- Hymenoptera
- insects
- Hexapoda
- arthropods
- invertebrates
- animals
- eukaryotes
- Coleoptera
- Euphorbiaceae
- Malpighiales
- eudicots
- angiosperms
- Spermatophyta
- plants
- Manihot
- Pseudococcidae
- Coccoidea
- Sternorrhyncha
- Hemiptera
- Phenacoccus
- Africa
- ACP Countries
- Anglophone Africa
- Commonwealth of Nations
- East Africa
- Africa South of Sahara
- lower-middle income countries
- medium Human Development Index countries
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Pest Management Decision Guides
Pest Management Decision Guide: Green and Yellow List
Applicable geographic locations
Africa, Kenya
Copyright
© CABI 2017. This article is published under aCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0)Published under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 licence
History
Issue publication date: 1 January 2017
Published online: 6 December 2017
Language
English
Authors
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