Major Insect Pests of Mango Inflorescences in Spring

During spring, mango inflorescences face a high risk of attack from several insect pests, which can severely impact fruit yield and quality. Understanding the most common pests, their damage symptoms, and effective control methods is crucial for ensuring a healthy mango harvest. Here’s a detailed look at the key culprits and how to manage them effectively:

1. Mango Hopper (Idioscopus clypealis, Idioscopus nitidulus and Amritodus atkinsoni):

Mango hoppers—Idioscopus clypealis, Idioscopus nitidulus, and Amritodus atkinsoni—are among the most damaging pests affecting mango crops across India, particularly during the flowering season. These pests cluster on mango inflorescences, sucking sap and causing flowers to wither and dry, which significantly reduces fruit set and can lead to yield losses of 25-60%. They are most active from late December through spring but hide in tree crevices year-round, ready to infest new shoots. Effective management includes cultural practices like pruning and sanitation, biological control with natural predators and bio-pesticides, and chemical control using insecticides such as Imidacloprid and Deltamethrin. An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach combining these methods helps control their population and minimize crop damage.

2. Mealy Bug (Drosicha mangiferae):

Mango mealy bug (Drosicha mangiferae) is a serious polyphagous pest that severely damages mango crops, particularly in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Delhi. Active from December to May, these pests suck sap from tender shoots, leaves, and inflorescences, leading to wilting, leaf drops, and reduced fruit setting. During the rest of the year, they overwinter as eggs in the soil (Chandra et al., 1989). Effective management includes cultural practices like deep plowing to expose eggs, biological control using predators like ladybird beetles, and chemical control with insecticides such as Thiamethoxum and Imidacloprid. An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach can help minimize damage and maintain crop health.

3. Mango Thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis):

Thrips are an increasing threat to the production of mangoes. There are nearly twenty species of thrips which have been reported on mango and among that Scirtothrips dorsalis is common one. It is a small insect with “fringe” wings which has been considered as occasional insect pest of mango but maybe destructive in some areas. Adults and nymphs destroy the leaves by scrapping the surface and feeding on the plant sap. Affected leaves develop brown areas and later dry up and fall to the ground. Burning effect on flowers is a common damage of thrip injury.

4. Fruit Flies (Bactrocera dorsalis):

Mango is one of the most important fruit crops in India. The infestation of fruit fly is a major limiting factor in the successful cultivation of mango. Fruit flies belong to the family Tephritidae which is the largest family of order – Diptera, comprising more than 4000 species in 500 genera. However, Bactrocera dorsalis is the most serious pest of mango in India which has created hinderance in the export of fresh fruits. The fruit fly undergoes in hibernation during pupal stage in the soil from November to March. The emergence of fruit fly starts from April onwards and the maximum population is recorded during May-July which coincides with fruit maturity. (Abbas and Srivastava, 1989; Singh et al., 2008). The female punctures the outer wall of the mature fruits with the help of its pointed ovipositor and insert eggs in small clusters inside the mesocarp of fruits. The ooze comes out from the egg laying punctures of the fruit. The fruit finally rotten up and falls down. After hatching the larva feeds on the pulp of fruits due to which infested fruits fall down. The infected fruits become unmarketable and may containing large number of maggots. 

References:

Green, E. E. 1908. Remarks of Indian scale insect (Coccidae) part – III with a catalogue of all species hitherto recorded from the India continent. Mem. Deptt. Agric. Indian (Ento. Ser.), 2: 15-46.

Pena, J. E. Mohyuddin, A. I. Wysoki, M. 1997. The current mango pest management in the tropics and subtropics. Acta Horticultura 455: 812-820.

Shukla, R. P., Massarat Haseeb and R.N. Padaria. 2001. Mango Integrated pest management. Extension Bulletin, 7, Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Lucknow, UP.

Chandra, A.; Bhati, D.P.S. and Sing, K.M. 1989. Note on the effect of soil raking and irrigation on survival of hatching of eggs of mango mealy bug Drosicha mangiferae. Current Science. 13(1-2): 103-104.

Higgins, C.J. 1992. Western flower thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in greenhouses: Population dynamics, distribution on plants and association with predators. Journal of Economic Entomology. 85: 1891–1903.

Saxena, R.C. 1987. Thrips of economic importance and their management. In Recent Advances in Entomology: Gopal Prakashan Kanpur: 141-168.

Singh, H. S. Verghese, A. Stonehouse, J. M. Mumford, J. D. George, S. Naik, G. Pandey, V. 2008. Developing bait and lure-based integrated pest management module for mango fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) management in Orissa. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 78(7): 609-613.

Abbas, S.R. and Srivastava, R.P. 1989. Notes on Oriental Fruits fly of mango, a serious problem of mature mangoes in India.