the significant reduction of bollworm infestation by the implementation of integrated pest management (ipm) in bt cotton as a component of ipm led to reduction in bollworm infestation and increase in yield. however, these alterations have brought in many new biotic problems hitherto unknown or of little economic importance. field survey of rainfed bt cotton fields in perambalur district of tami...

Mutualistic ants can protect their partners from natural enemies in nature. Aenasius bambawalei is an important parasitoid of the the invasive mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis. We hypothesized that mutualism between native ants and mealybugs would favor survival of mealybugs. To test this, we examined effects of tending by the native mutualistic ant Tapinoma melanocephalum on growth of P. soleno...

The mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis (Tinsley), is a serious pest in Vadodara agricultural fields in India. In an attempt to find solutions to reduce the infestation by this pest,simple behavioural bioassays were conducted under the laboratory conditions using semiochemicals obtained through n-hexane solventvolatile extract of female Phenacoccus solenopsis. Observations were made at the rate of...

The outbreaks of mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae), have created problems to cotton crops in South Asia in the recent years. To control this menace, predatory potential of Chrysoperla carnea and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri larvae were investigated under laboratory conditions (27 ± 5° C and 65 ± 5% RH). The experiments were conducted in no choice (only first, sec...

Mating disruption field experiments to control the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), were carried out in 2008 and 2009 in two commercial vineyards in Sardinia (Italy). The effectiveness of mating disruption was evaluated by testing reservoir dispensers loaded with 100 mg (62.5 g/ha) and 150 mg (93.8 g/ha) of the sex pheromone in 2008 and 2009, respectively...