Mango Tree Pest Management Quiz

Pest and Disease Management on Mango (Mangifera indica)

• Mangoes are susceptible to various pests and diseases, impacting yield and quality.
• Effective management strategies are crucial for successful mango cultivation.

Major Insect Pests of Mango

• Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina):

  • Attracted to honeydew produced by scale insects and mealybugs.
  • Don't directly harm the tree or fruit.
  • Cause discomfort via painful bites to farmers/harvesters.
  • Management involves pruning unnecessary branches to reduce favorable ant habitats, controlling mealybugs and scale insects and applying insecticides to the nests during heavy infestations.

• Capsid Bug (Lygocoris pabulinus):

  • Adult resembles a small rice bug, with antennae longer than its body.
  • Female has a black body; orange thorax.
  • Eggs are white, nymphs are red or orange.
  • Active in the evening, feeding on developing fruits up to the size of a chicken egg.
  • Damage causes dry, brown, irregularly shaped corky spots on the fruit skin (locally known as "kurikong," "saksak walis," "armalite" or "nora-nora," varying by region).
  • Management: Bag the fruit at 55-60 days post-flower induction and remove weeds, underbrush shrubs and small trees under the canopy as well as infested fruits. Optionally remove alternate hosts (cashew, guava, cacao). Apply insecticides during heavy infestations, ideally at night.

• Mango Fruit Fly (Ceratitis cosyra):

  • Similar in size to a housefly.
  • Light brown body; bright yellow spots on thorax and shoulders.
  • Transparent wings.
  • Female punctures mature fruit, lays eggs.
  • Larvae develop and feed inside the mango fruit.
  • Damage: Punctures not immediately obvious, but within days soft brownish spots appear and liquid oozes. Underlying fruit tissue rots, and the continuous feeding of the larvae, along with microbial activity, destroys and makes the fruit unsuitable for consumption.
  • Management: Collect infested fruits and bury them deep within the soil. Bag the fruit using appropriate materials like old newspapers, when the fruit reaches the size of a chicken egg (55-65 days after flower induction) or remove alternate hosts. Harvest fruit at mature green stage before fruit surfaces turn yellow. Do not intercrop with guava, papaya, jackfruit, sineguelas and santol, as they are alternate host plants.

• Mango Cecid Fly (Procontarinia mangivora):

  • Extremely small and delicate fly.
  • Long legs and antennae.
  • Hairy transparent wings.
  • Larvae are bright yellow maggots.
  • Adult Cecid fly stays on wild foliage, while larvae stay on young parts of mango trees.
  • Damage: Gall formation on leaves and round sunken spots on fruit.
  • Management: Prune crowded branches and infested leaves, remove weeds and shrubs under the mango canopy. Dispose of heavily infested fruits.

• Mango Leafhopper (Amritodus atkinsoni):

  • Wedge-shaped insects.
  • Adults can be greyish-green, brown.
  • Young leafhoppers/nymphs are very small, wingless and yellowish.
  • Found hiding beneath leaves, panicles' main stalk, and emerging flowers.
  • Damage: Nymph and adult mango leafhoppers pierce and suck plant sap resulting in the withering and falling of flowers. Heavy infestation produces sticky honeydew, promoting sooty mold growth beneath leaves, flower buds, and panicles.
  • Management: Induce early flowering to minimize summer infestations, avoid excessive fungicide application to protect beneficial fungi that attack leafhoppers, Prune dead branches, light trapping before flower induction. Apply insecticides only when at least 3 leafhoppers are seen per panicle, seven days after flower induction or once flower buds are formed.

• Mango Pulp Weevil (Sternochetus frigidus):

  • Hard-bodied weevil, 6mm long, brownish-black in color.
  • Difficult to see on the tree due to color and hiding habits.
  • Larvae feed on mango flesh, developing inside mango fruit.
  • Damage: Internal tunnels and discoloration of pulp, while externally, no damage is visible. Weevils do not leave infested fruit until it rots on the ground.
  • Management: Prune mango trees, preferably in an open-center style to allow sunlight to penetrate. Maintain cleanliness of the orchard by removing all weeds, twigs, fallen leaves, and other debris underneath the tree canopy. Dispose of infested fruits properly by burying them two feet underground.

• Mango Seed Borer (Deanolis albizonalis):

  • Adult is light brown, 16mm long.
  • Larva is white with red inter-segmental bands.
  • Damage: Larvae enter fruit through the apex (narrow tip) and feed on the seed and flesh, resulting in damage to the apex. Once seed is totally consumed, the fruit collapses and falls to the ground.
  • Management: Remove infested fruits from the tree. Dispose of infested fruit by burying deep in the soil; bag the fruit at 55–65 days after flower induction or when the fruit reaches chicken-egg size.

• Mango Thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis):

  • Minute, slender-bodied insects.
  • About 4mm long and have four long, narrow fringed wings.
  • Sensitive to light
  • Damage: Adults and nymphs attack flowers by sucking plant sap. Flowers wither and fall off; fruits develop a scab-like appearance (locally called "chico-chico").
  • Management: Prune excess branches to allow better air circulation and light penetration. Spray insecticides as a fine mist to protect the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves.

• Mealy Bugs (Drosicha mangiferae):

  • Small (2mm long), oval-shaped, soft-bodied insects.
  • White cottony filaments covering their bodies.
  • Males have two wings; females are wingless.
  • Usually found on flushes, flowers, and fruits.
  • Damage: Sucking vital plant sap, affecting leaves, flowers; and fruits, which turn yellow and eventually fall off. They also promote sooty mold growth, impacting photosynthetic activity.
  • Management: Prune infested plant parts and spray registered insecticide before bagging.

• Mango Tip Borer (Penicillaria jocosatrix):

  • Grayish-black moth, usually around 8mm long.
  • Larvae can grow up to 10mm, light brown to purple in color.
  • Considered a serious pest of flowers and young shoots.
  • Damage: Infestations occur from bud emergence to elongation. Larvae bore into tips of shoots and developing flowers, feeding on inner tissues. Affected shoots wilt, terminal parts die, and panicles split open, shedding flowers.
  • Management: Prune and burn infested areas, spray registered insecticides.

• Scale Insects:

  • Small, stationary, convex, scale-like; 1mm long.
  • Damage: High populations cause canopies to turn black from sooty mold; reduce photosynthetic activity. Punctures can also appear on fruits, diminishing their market value.
  • Management: Look for scale infestation on leaves, flowers, and fruits. Check if widespread or in patches; prune heavily affected parts; remove patches mechanically, spray pesticides; check for alternative scale hosts (ipil-ipil or kakawate trees). Destroy red ants if present.

Major Plant Diseases of Mango

• Anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides):

  • Major post-harvest problem, most serious fungal disease in the Philippines.
  • Damage: Irregular brown spots on young leaves, mature leaves get distorted with "shot holes," flowers blacken and wither, producing "blossom blight" and brown/black sunken spots on fruits. Reduced tree vigour, unproductive branches, withering of flowers, failed fruit set, rotting of fruits.
  • Management: Follow recommended cultural practice (for strong, productive trees capable of resisting disease), burning diseased debris, use appropriate bagging materials; follow anthracnose protection management; maintain good light penetration and air circulation, collect and burn trash. Apply protectants/systemic fungicides during fruit formation, and avoid using systemic fungicides when spraying at flushing stage.

• Scab (Denticularia maniferae):

  • Fungal disease primarily affecting young developing fruits and panicles, particularly pedicels.
  • Damage: Grayish brown spots on the fruit surface, with dark irregular margins. Spots enlarge and develop cracks, forming fissured corky tissues. Infected fruit shows a misshapen appearance that lowers market value.
  • Management: Use protection techniques for anthracnose; maintain good light penetration and air circulation; use appropriate bagging materials to prevent field infestation; spray fungicides to affected, susceptible areas. Spray registered fungicides in affected areas during the young fruit stage, or approximately 35-50 days after flower induction.

• Sooty Mold (Denticularia maniferae):

  • Fungal disease stemming from honeydew excreted by insects (leafhoppers, scales, mealybugs). -Damage: Creates a black velvety covering on leaves and fruit surfaces. Blocks light from reaching the plant, reducing photosynthetic activities, and harming vigor or fruit bearing capability. Consequently, this adversely affects the fruit's market value
  • Management: Eradicate or manage the population of honeydew-producing insects, bag clean fruits, practice pruning.

• Diplodia/Stem-end Rot (Diplodia natalensis):

  • Fungal disease causing dark lesions at the pedicel end of harvested fruit.
  • Damage: Under warm and moist conditions, infected area extends towards the fruit end. Fruit color changes from dark-brown to purplish black with water-logged tissues and unpleasant odor. The disease also affects inflorescence, young developing fruits, and terminal branches causing losses post-harvest.
  • Management: Removing and burning primary disease sources (dead twigs, barks, and other trash). Harvest mangoes with approximately 1–2 centimeters of stalk attached to prevent high likelihood of infection. Follow anthracnose disease management techniques.

General Management Recommendations

• Prune: Remove unnecessary branches and dead material.

• Maintain Orchard Hygiene: Remove weeds and debris.

• Use appropriate bagging materials: protects fruits from pest infestation.

• Insecticides/Fungicides: Use only when necessary and recommended; follow directions. Choose suitable type and approach.

• Proper Harvesting Techniques: Harvesting technique can minimize post-harvest infestation.