PEST MANAGEMENT IN FOREST NURSERIES

MAJOR PESTS

SUCKING PESTS

These are serious pests of tender seedlings causing appreciable seedling losses. The mouth parts of these insects are modified into stylets and tubular structures. Plant surfaces particularly young leaves, tender shoots are pierced into, and the sap is sucked. Usually these insects occur in very large numbers causing heavy sap draining. Some of them also inject small amounts of phytotoxic saliva into plants while feeding and this saliva causes cell necrosis around feeding punctures resulting in ‘phytotoximia’. Due to feeding and phytotoxima, seedlings become stunted, mealy bugs, tree membracids, whiteflies, eurybrachids and fulgorids are among severe pests of forest nurseries and tree seedlings. Thrips and mites also feed on plant sap and occasionally cause considerable loss to tree seedlings.

CONTROL MEASURES

Sap feeders can be effectively controlled by spraying one of the ‘systemic’ insecticides like methyl demeton, dimethoate 30 EC, formothion 25 EC, phosphamidon 85 EC @ 1 ml/lit. or acephate 75 SP @ 1g/lit. Mites can be controlled by applying a suitable acaricide like dicofol 18 EC @ 1.5 ml/lit. Early detection and timely insecticidal treatment are essential to manage the sap feeders since these pests multiply very rapidly and cause extensive damage.