A meeting presided over by Hidayatullah Chhagro, Director General Agriculture Research Sindh Tandojam was held on Thursday to discuss mealy bug research and management. The meeting was attended by Entomologist in charge Sindh component Dr Abdul Sattar Buriro, Insect Biocontrol Specialist CAB International Rawalpindi Riaz Muhmood.
Dr Buriro informed the chair that the mealy bug has been recorded throughout Sindh on cotton. The intensity of the mealy bug is comparatively higher in southern Sindh, Nawabshah and Naushahro Feroze Districts.
Mealy bug was recorded in patches in Khairpur, Sukkur and Ghotki. Under the project awareness programme, which has been initiated through radio, television and publications the growers who have adopted recommendation properly were able to obtain cotton yield more than 20 Mds/ acre.
The research work on mealy bug biology, ecology and their natural enemies on cotton and alternate host plants, screening of bio-pesticides varietal performance is in progress. Riaz Muhmood of CAB International informed that surveys on natural enemies and their phenology associated with mealy bug are in progress.
The mealy bug species on cotton identified as phenacoccus solani by British natural history museum is exotic and is a new species to the world. It is internationally recognised phenomena that this group of insects is difficult to be controlled by insecticides and is best managed by biological control based IPM technologies therefore biological control attempts are being made the natural enemies.