Hort daily
Mealybugs are a common insect pest in greenhouses, causing damage to plants and reducing yields. Mealybugs extract plant fluids through their piercing-sucking mouthparts, leading to stunted growth, yellowing leaves, wilting, and the production of sticky honeydew. Mealybugs can be introduced into greenhouses through tropical foliage and succulent plant material shipments, making effective control strategies important. A combination of cultural, insecticidal, and biological management strategies need to be implemented to manage mealybug populations.
Identifying mealybugs is relatively easy due to their elliptical shape and distinctive white, waxy filaments protruding from their body. While they retain their legs in all instar stages, mealybugs seldom move except for the first nymphal instar stage or crawler, which actively searches for a place to feed. Some species leave behind white, cottony egg masses (Figure 1) and excrete honeydew, which can lead to the growth of black sooty mold. Their ability to hide in plant crevasses makes them particularly difficult to manage. Since only adult male mealybugs fly, yellow sticky cards are not effective for scouting. Therefore, using a hand lens or magnifying glass to confirm the identity of mealybugs is recommended. Keeping records of mealybug infestations and locations will help in making effective management decisions.
Disposal and quarantining
One of the most effective ways to stop the spread of mealybugs in the greenhouse is to dispose of heavily infested plant material (Figure 2). Setting up pest thresholds in your operation is important to determine when to cut your losses and throw away plant material. A pest threshold is a level at which a pest population in a crop reaches the point where it begins to cause economic losses. In other words, it is the point at which the cost of controlling the pest exceeds the cost of the damage it causes to the crop. Determining a pest threshold requires a comprehensive assessment of the crop, pest, economic factors, and the availability and effectiveness of management options. Plant material susceptible to mealybugs should be quarantined before introducing into the greenhouse. For high-value crops where disposal is not ideal, quarantining infested plants helps ensure mealybugs do not spread to unaffected plants. Quarantine protocols will be different depending on the size of the operation and the crop type, but the basic steps include the following: