Mealybugs are oval, about 4 mm long and 2-3 mm wide. The body is covered with a white wax layer, with long, white, spongy wax filaments around it. The larger the mealybug, the less it moves; they move mainly with the help of symbiotic ants.
Mealybugs develop at the end of the rainy season and the start of the dry season. At this time, timely prevention and control is needed; otherwise mealybug damage will stunt the plants and gradually weaken the orchard, and severe infestations lead to plant death.
Damage symptoms:
Mealybugs live in clusters clinging tightly to young tips, leaf stalks, fruit clusters, branch forks or leaf undersides. They suck sap, causing leaves and fruit to wither and young fruit to drop. Mealybugs excrete black waste around the fruit that sticks to the leaves, preventing photosynthesis.
Mealybug waste is also food for ants that live in symbiosis with them; the ants carry mealybugs into the soil, where they continue feeding on sap at the base and roots. The roots cannot take up nutrients, so the pepper plants become stunted, with yellow leaves and poorly developed flowers and fruit, then gradually wilt and die when the root system is badly damaged.
Wounds caused by mealybugs on pepper are entry points for fungal pathogens, causing disease.
Prevention and control measures:
- Remove plant residue from the orchard and keep the orchard clean.
- Prune shade trees to improve ventilation and give the pepper garden enough light.
- Water to maintain moisture in the dry season to limit mealybug outbreaks.
- Inspect the orchard regularly, especially where mealybugs often appear, such as on leaves, branches, fruit clusters and the part of the stem adjoining the roots in the soil. If an infestation appears, spray immediately because mealybugs reproduce very quickly.
- The following product can be used for preventive and curative sprays when mealybugs appear: Pilaravia 155SC at a rate of 0.12%; spray volume: 600-800 litres/ha; spray once when density is about 5-7 per vine or fruit cluster. Source: Internet.
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