Population Estimates of the White mango scale insect Aulacaspis tubercularis (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) in Relation to Biotic and Abiotic Factors in Damietta Governorate,.

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Plant Protection Department- Agriculture Faculty- Damietta university- Damietta- Egypt

Abstract

Abstract: The white mango scale insect, Aulacaspis tubercularis (Diaspididae: Hemiptera) is one of the most dangerous species of scale insects that attack mango trees in Egypt. The purpose of this study is to track changes in the pest's population in mango orchards in the New Damietta region between the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 seasons. The impact of natural enemies and weather factors (means of temperature °C, relative humidity % and wind velocity km/h in addition to tree directions) on the population density of A. tubercularis has been investigated. A. tubercularis recorded three peaks of abundance annually that occurred in the months of May, August and February. The summer months had the maximum population of this insect, with average counts of 3908.0 and 3006.2 individuals/125 leaves in the 1st and 2nd years of study, respectively, conversely, the winter months of both seasons saw the lowest of insect population. The overall population of A. tubercularis was affected significantly by natural enemies and the daily mean temperature, whereas the overall population of the tested pest was not significantly affected by R.H. % or wind velocity. During the two years of the investigation, A. tubercularis prefers the southern direction of the mango tree. Data showed that populations of this insect pest and its natural enemies were occurrence synchronized.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 24 July 2024

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics