Showing posts with label Pest and Parasites. Show all posts
It's Real: Attack of the Giant African Land Snails in Florida
Posted by Unknown in News, Pest and Parasites, Snail, USA on Monday, 13 May 2013
By Joe Sutton, CNN
 |
| Giant African land snails can carry a human parasite called rat lungworm, which is a form of meningitis and potentially deadly. |
(CNN) -- Florida, already threatened with sinkholes, now has a new terror: rat-sized, tire-puncturing snails.
Sounding like
something out of a 1950s B-movie, these giant African land snails eat
their way through some surprising stuff, including stucco, plastic
recycling bins, signs and more than 500 species of plants, says the
Florida Department of Agriculture.
Their calcium shells bear pointy edges that are sharp enough to blow out tires of vehicles that run over them.
Agriculture
Department spokeswoman Denise Feiber says the menacing creatures also
carry a human parasite called rat lungworm, which is a form of
meningitis and potentially deadly.
So far, no
human cases have been reported in Florida, Feiber says. But some giant
African land snails that have been captured in the state have carried
the parasite.
The snails are
isolated to the Miami-Dade County area, says Feiber. Experts don't know
exactly how they were first introduced to the United States. It's
thought they may have hitched rides aboard incoming travelers' luggage.
Or some of them may have been intentionally carried into the country as
pets -- and then released.
The snails have
another trait in common with rats: They can multiply very rapidly --
and grow to adulthood in a year, Feiber says. The snails can produce up
to 1,200 eggs per year, and they can live up to nine years.
Since
agriculture officials first discovered the snail invasion in 2011,
trappers have collected more than 117,000. Officials are hoping to
prevent a worst-case scenario, where the snails would threaten Florida
crops.
Some countries, such as Ecuador and Barbados, have run out of resources to fight these critters, Feiber said.
Management Tips for Controlling Mango Hoppers
Posted by Unknown in Mango, Pest and Parasites, Pest Management on Wednesday, 8 May 2013
R. K. MURALI BASKARAN
J. JAYARAJ
The Hindu
Three
species of mango hoppers namely Idioscopus niveosparsus, Idioscopus
clypealis and Amirtodus atkinsoni are serious pests in the entire mango
growing regions of India.
They remain active throughout the year but the incidence is severe during the months from February to April.
Infested
flowers shrivel, turn brown and ultimately fall off. Besides feeding
injury, the hoppers also excrete honey dews on which black mould
develops that interferes with photosynthesis and arrests new shoot
development.
POOR FRUIT SET
These damages
result in weakening of the plants, reduction in fruit set and premature
dropping of fruits, leading up to 60 per cent yield loss.
Egg laying
starts from February to March. Each female lays around 150 eggs, laid
singly by inserting into florets and stalk of the inflorescence. The
eggs hatch in 4 to 7 days. Freshly hatched nymphs are white and
gradually turn yellowish-green. They undergo 4-5 moultings in 10-13 days
and become adults which are light greenish-brown in colour with black
and yellow markings.
There may be
2-3 generations during the blossoming period. Adult hoppers are found
all through the year hiding on the bark of the tree.
MANAGEMENT
Avoid close
planting and prune dense orchards during winter for better light
interception. Keep the orchard clean by regular ploughing and removal of
weeds.
Collect and destroy affected inflorescence.
Spray Carbaryl
at 2gm/lit, Phosalone 1.5ml/lit, Etofenprox 0.03 per cent, acephate 75
SP at 1gm/lit, or imidacloprid 0.2ml/lit twice in February and March.
The first spray should be given during flower formation stage and the second, two weeks after the first spray.
Wettable sulphur at2 gm/lit may be sprayed after spraying carbaryl to avoid mite resurgence.
(J. Jayaraj, Prof and R. K. Murali Baskaran Professor and Head, Dept. of Agrl. Entomology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai 625 104, email: vu2jrj@rediffmail.com, Phone:0452-2422956 Extn.214)
