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Bio control:: Mass production::Predators

Mass production technique of some important predators

Mass production of Maconellicoccus hirsutus  

 Introduction 
The pink mealy bug (hibiscus mealy bug = grapevine mealy bug) is a serious pest of grapevine and citrus in India.  These bugs are hard to kill in the plantations and gardens. Heavily infested clusters of the fruits give weak appearance, shrivel and droop down. Because of this the marketability is lost. The Australian Ladybird beetle, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri is an effective predator of the mealy bug.  These mealy bugs are used as natural hosts for the mass production of the predatory beetle.

Bioecology
The grapevine mealy bugs occur throughout the year on grapevine.  The bugs are found the leaves, shoots, nodes, bunch and loose bark in the vine.  The adult females are pinkish and covered with a mealy coat. The fecundity per adult is 350-500 eggs. The orange coloured eggs hatch in 5-10 days and the crawlers migrate and settle on places that support their food requirement.  The crawlers become sedentary as they advance in age.  The multiplication rate of the bugs is higher in summer months and life cycle gets prolonged during cooler months.

1. Production procedure
1.1. Colony establishment
The colonies of the mealy bugs are established from field collection initially. Guava plantations, vineyards, croton plants, citrus and pomegranate gardens are good reservoirs of the mealy bug populations. From them a primary colony under quarantine is established separately in the lab utilizing the quarantine facility. During this period the colony is purified to obtain mealy bug population free of attacks by parasitoids and scavenging ants.

1.2. Culture maintenance     
The mealy bugs are cultured on pumpkin (red) in the laboratory.  It is very difficult to maintain the colony on the natural host plants. The selection of pumpkin is critical for successful development of mealy bugs. Fleshy pumpkins with intact peduncle and deep ridges and furrows of weight 2.5 kg devoid of wounds and mouldy patches are used for multiplication of the bugs. The pumpkins are soaked in carbendazim 0.5% for 1 min. and shade dried.  The cut ends and wounds are plugged with molten wax.  Along the furrows burlap is provided to facilitate settling of the crawlers. The pumpkins are placed in large sized cages over stainless steel stands. The cages are set up in ant proof conditions as the mealy bugs secrete honey dews which attract ants invariably.
Ovisacs of healthy adults are collected and placed on fresh pumpkin in the laboratory individually.  From them, the eggs are allowed to hatch and multiply. The crawlers move along the burlap and settle. In a month time, the mealy bugs begin to smother the entire surface of the pumpkin. From this stock, subsequent colonies are established. When the colony is in active growth period with breeding females, the ovisacs are collected with the help of camel hair brush and transferred to fresh pumpkins prepared as above. During the mass production care is taken to avoid fungal invasion. The cages, steel ware and burlap used are sterilized using common bleach. Used pumpkin fruits with symptoms of mould invasion are disposed of immediately. 


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