Entomological News (2015) 125, 179-185

D.M. Firake, S. Joshi, G.T. Behere, G. Momin, N.S. Azad Thakur and S.V. Ngachan (2015)
First report of the mealybug Formicococcus polysperes (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) infesting ginger in India
Entomological News 125 (3), 179-185
Abstract: The mealybug Formicococcus polysperes Williams (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is here reported for the first time attacking ginger rhizomes (Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Zingiberaceae)) in Meghalaya State of India. Plants infested by the sap-sucking nymphs and adults of this mealybug turned yellow within 1 to 2 weeks and then started drying from the tip downwards. Infested rhizomes shriveled and eventually dried out. Fields and a nearby storage facility experienced up to 48% crop loss due to the infestation. In this paper we describe the plant damage and the morphological characteristics of F. polysperes from Meghalaya.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): D.M. Firake, Gajanan Tryambak Behere

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Formicococcus polysperes	Ginger (Zingiber)	India