EVALUATION OF SOME INSECTICIDES AGAINST WHITE MANGO SCALE, AULACASPIS TUBERCULARIS NEWSTEAD (HEMIPTERA: DIASPIDIDAE) ON MANGO

Abstract

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) has been cultivated in Ethiopia at small scale level so far, but very few large scale farms have started to join the sector in recent days. Mango production in Ethiopia is currently constrained by white mango scale (Aulacaspis tubercularis). This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of three formulations, i.e. Folimat, Closer 240 and D-C-Tron Plus, against white mango scale (WMS) on mango from mid-May 2016 to end of July 2016 in west Oromia. The experiment was laid in a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Volume of water enough for complete coverage of a mango tree was calibrated and repetitive treatment and response recording were conducted.  The insecticides were applied by manual Knapsack sprayer, every 14 days for a total of three times. A total of ten leaves were picked randomly from the treatments and the untreated control one day prior to each treatment and on the 5^th and 10^th days after each treatment. Live crawler; male and female WMSs were counted by the use of stereo microscope and recorded as number of live WMS. Folimat showed maximum pest population reduction followed with Closer 240. However, some non-target insects were found dead on trees treated with Folimat, an observation to be confirmed by further investigation. Incorporating the less toxic insecticide, Closer 240 SC which showed a certain degree of the pest population reduction, in to Integrated Pest Management to control the white mango scale infestation on big trees of mango landrace is recommended.