IPM Stratergies for Pineapple

Pineapple: Diseases and Symptoms Fungi associated diseases Phytophthora heart (top) rot Phytophthora root rot Base (butt) r...

Pineapple: Diseases and Symptoms

1. Fungi associated diseases
1. Phytophthora heart (top) rot
2. Phytophthora root rot
3. Base (butt) rot
4. Fruitlet core rot (green eye)
5. Fusariosis
6. Green fruit rot
7. Inter fruitlet corking
8. Leathery pocket
9. Water blister
10. White leaf spot
11. Fruit rot by yeast and candida species
2. Nematodes associated diseases
3. Bacteria and phytoplasmas associated diseases
1. Marbling
2. Pink disease
4. Virus associated diseases
1. Mealybug wilt disease
2. Yellow spot
5. IPM for Pineapple

Fungi associated diseases

Phytophthora heart (top) rot

Damage symptoms

• Plants of all ages are attacked, but three to four month old crown plantings are most susceptible.
• Fruiting plants or suckers on ratoon plants may be affected.
• The colour of the heart leaves changes to yellow or light coppery brown. Later, the heart leaves wilt (causing the leaf edges to roll under), turn brown and eventually die.
• Once symptoms become visible, young leaves are easily pulled from the plant, and the basal white leaf tissue at the base of the leaves becomes water-soaked and rotten with a foul smell due to the invasion of secondary organisms. The growing point of the stem becomes yellowish-brown with a dark line between healthy and diseased areas.

Survival and spread

• Chlamydospores of the two species are the primary inoculum and they can survive in the soil or in infected plant debris for several years.
• They germinate directly to produce hyphae that are able to infect roots and young leaf and stem tissue, or indirectly to produce sporangia.
• Phytophthora pathogens are soil inhabitants and require water for spore production and infection. As free water is required for producing sporangia and releasing motile zoospores, infection and disease development is exacerbated in soils with restricted drainage.

Phytophthora root rot

Damage symptoms

• The symptoms above ground are similar to those caused by nematodes, mealy bug wilt and low levels of soil oxygen and are not diagnostic. Leaves change in colour from a healthy green through various shades of red and yellow.
• Leaf tips and margins eventually become necrotic, the root system is dead and plants can easily be pulled from the ground.
• Fruits from infected plants colour prematurely become small and unmarketable. If symptoms are recognized early and control measures are taken plants can recover. If roots are killed right back to the stem, they often fail to regenerate

Survival and spread

• Losses can be severe in poorly drained fields. Plants on even relatively well-drained soils can be affected during prolonged wet weather.
• Losses from root rot can be serious in high rainfall areas where prolonged rains extend into the winter months.
• The disease can eliminate the ratoon crop.
• Rough leaf varieties and some low acid hybrids are more susceptible than Smooth Cayenne.

Base (butt) rot

Damage symptoms

• Symptoms are seen only on crowns, slips and suckers before or immediately after planting. A grey to black rot of the soft butt tissue develops, leaving stringy fibers and a cavity at the base of the stem. If affected material is planted, partial decay of the butt severely reduces plant growth.
• When butt decay is severe, plants fail to establish, wilt rapidly and leaf tissue dies. Unlike Phytophthora heart rot, the young leaves remain firmly attached to the top of the stem. Infected plants can easily be broken off at ground level.

Survival and spread

• The fungus is important in the breakdown of pineapple residues after cropping and survives as chlamydospores in soil and decaying pineapple residues.
• The fungus commonly infects plants through fresh wounds occurring where the planting material has been detached from the parent plant and destroys the soft tissue at the base of the stem.
• Material removed during showery weather and stored in heaps is particularly prone to infection. Tops (crowns) used for planting are particularly susceptible
• Conidia are produced under conditions of high humidity and can be dispersed by wind. Losses of planting material and plantings from diseased material can be severe at times

Fruitlet core rot (green eye)

Damage symptoms

• This is an internal fruit disease. Smooth Cayenne fruits do not usually show any external symptoms. However, fruit of the rough-leaf (Mauritius) may produce fruitlets that fail to colour – a condition often referred to as „green eye‟.
• Severely affected fruitlets may become brown and sunken as the fruit ripens. Internal symptoms consist of a browning of the centre of the fruitlets starting below the floral cavity and sometimes extending to the core. The browning, which remains quite firm, varies in size from a speck to complete discolouration of one or more fruitlets

Survival and spread

• Penicillium funiculosum infects the developing fruit at some stage between initiation and open flower. Infection is favoured by cool temperatures (16–20^oC) during the five weeks after flower initiation, during which time the fungus builds up in leaf hairs damaged by mites. Similar cool temperatures are required for infection from about 10–15 weeks after flower induction.
• Symptoms of fruit let core rot on a fruit cylinder in damaged leaf hairs. Fusarium guttiforme enters the fruit through open flowers or injury sites. The risk of disease caused by this fungus is higher when flowers are initiated and fruit mature under warm conditions.

Fusariosis

Damage symptoms

• It is sporadic and affects all parts of the pineapple plant but is most conspicuous and damaging on fruit.
• Fruits exhibit stem rosetting and curvature of the plant because portions of the stem are girdled or killed.
• Rough leaf pineapple cultivars are more susceptible than smooth-leaf varieties

Survival and spread

• Infections of the inflorescence and fruit occur primarily via injuries caused by insects, particularly the pineapple fruit caterpillar (Thecla basilides) and by infected planting materials

Green fruit rot

Damage symptoms

• Green fruit in contact with the soil are liable to be infected.
• A water-soaked rot develops internally behind affected fruit lets with no external symptoms, As the disease progresses, a general, water-soaked rot of green fruit with a distinct brown margin develops in green fruit.

Survival and spread

• The pathogen lives in the soil and requires free water for spore production and fruit infection. Ratoon crop fruit lying close to or touching soil are most affected.
• Spores may be splashed by rain on to fruit near the ground

Inter fruitlet corking

Damage symptoms

• Fruits affected by inter fruitlet corking often show shiny patches on the shell early in their development, where the trichomes (hairs) have been removed by mite feeding.
• Externally, corky tissue develops on the skin between the fruitlets, but usually only „patches‟ of eyes are affected.
• Fine, transverse cracks may also develop on the sepals and bracts.
• In moderate to severe cases, corkiness surrounding fruitlets prevents their development and one side of the fruit will be malformed.

Leathery pocket

Damage symptoms

• Fruits do not usually show any external symptoms. Internally, the formation of corky tissue on the walls of the fruitlets makes them leathery and brown.

Survival and spread

• See fruitlet core rot. Leathery pocket occurs sporadically. Penicillium funiculosum infects the developing fruit at some stage between initiation and open flower.
• Infection is favoured by cool temperatures (16–20⁰C) during the five weeks after flower initiation, during which time the fungus builds up in leaf hairs damaged by mites.
• Similar cool temperatures are required for infection from about 10–15 weeks after flower induction

Water blister

Damage symptoms

• Symptoms include water blister, which is also referred to as black rot or soft rot. This causes a soft, watery rot of the fruit flesh and makes the overlying skin glassy, water-soaked and brittle.
• The skin, flesh and core disintegrate and the fruit leaks through the shell. In advanced cases, this leaves a fruit shell containing only a few black fibres. This shell collapses under the slightest pressure.

Survival and spread

• Infection occurs through shell bruises and growth cracks but mainly through the broken fruit stalks.
• The disease is most active in warm, wet weather and is most severe from January to April, when the summer crop is harvested. (The correlation between rainfall before harvest and disease after harvest has resulted in the name „water blister‟).
• When fresh fruits are marketed with the crowns left on, this eliminates a major point of entry for the fungus.

White leaf spot

Damage symptoms

• The first symptom is a small, brown spot on the leaf, usually where the leaf margin has been rubbed by another leaf during strong winds.
• These spots lengthen rapidly during wet weather. During prolonged wet periods, spots may reach more than 20 cm in length and spread to the leaf tip.
• Fine weather rapidly dries the affected area leaving cream coloured or almost white, papery spots; hence the name „white leaf spot‟. The margins of the spot often remain brown.

Survival and spread

• Chalara paradoxa is common in pineapple plantations. The fungus will only invade wounds and is most active in warm, wet weather.

Fruit rot by yeast and candida species

Damage symptoms

• Yeasts ferment sugar solution, producing alcohol and releasing carbon dioxide. The first symptom is a bubbling exudation of gas and juice through the crack or injury where infection occurred.
• The shell then turns brown and leathery and, as the juice escapes, the fruit becomes spongy.
• Internally, the decaying flesh turns bright yellow and develops large gas cavities. Finally, all that remains of the fruit is the shell and spongy tissue

Survival and spread

• In spring, rapid changes in fruit growth, resulting from the shift from cold and dry to warm and wet weather, can result in the pineapple skin cracking between fruit lets.
• Fruit affected by even minor frost damage are prone to cracking as they ripen in spring. Yeasts immediately invade the juice weeping from those wounds, and these fruits are severely damaged or destroyed as they ripen. The disease may occur before or after harvest

Nematodes associated diseases

Damage symptoms

• Root-knot nematodes produce distinct terminal swellings on the roots, stopping further root development. The root lesion nematode invades the outer root tissues, causing black areas (lesions) of dead or injured plant cells on the root surface.
• These lesions can completely encircle the root. Reniform nematodes reduce the number of lateral and fine feeder roots; the remainder elongate normally so that plants retain good soil anchorage. Root-knot nematodes cause stunting, yellowing and dieback of plants.

Bacteria and phytoplasmas associated diseases

Marbling

Damage symptoms

• Infected fruits do not show any external symptoms. Internally, the flesh is red-brown and granular and has a woody consistency.

Survival and spread

• The disease occurs when flowers are initiated and when fruit mature under warm, wet conditions.
• The bacteria enter through the open flower and natural growth cracks on the fruit surface. Infected fruit are usually low in both acid and sugars

Pink disease

Damage symptoms

• Infected fruits do not show any external symptoms, even when fully ripe. Internally, the flesh may be water-soaked or light pink and have an aromatic odour, although these symptoms may not be obvious immediately. When sterilized by heat during canning, infected tissue darkens to colours ranging from pink to dark brown.
• In some fruits, only one or a few fruitlets may be infected. In highly translucent, low- brix fruit, the entire cylinder can be invaded.

Survival and spread

• The bacteria infect through the open flower during cool weather. Disease incidence increases in dry conditions before flowering, followed by rainfall during flowering.
• The bacteria are thought to be carried by nectar feeding insects and mites to open flowers from infected, decaying fruit near flowering fields

Virus associated diseases

Mealybug wilt disease

Damage symptoms

• The early symptoms are a slight reddening of leaves about halfway up the plant. The leaf colour then changes from red to pink and leaves lose rigidity, roll downwards at the margin and the tip of the leaf dies.
• The root tissue also collapses and the plant appears wilted. Plants can recover to reduce symptomless leaves and fruit that are markedly smaller than fruit from healthy plants.
• Symptoms are most obvious in winter when plant growth and vigour are reduced.
• Disease development and incidence is affected by plant age at the onset of mealy bug infestation, with younger plants displaying symptoms two to three months following feeding, while older plants may take up to 12 months to develop symptoms.

Survival and spread

• The disease is thought to be caused by viruses transmitted by mealy bugs with the pink mealy bug (Dysmicoccus brevipes) being the main vector.
• The disease is probably introduced in planting material that may not show obvious disease symptoms. Once established, the viruses are transmitted when the mealy bugs feed on young leaves. Mealy bugs are sedentary insects that are moved from plant to plant by attendant ants or by wind.
• Ants actively tend mealy bugs. The coastal brown ant (Pheidole megacephala) is common and active, but many other species can be involved in raising mealy bugs. Mealy bugs produce honeydew, which is harvested by ants for food. Ants also protect mealy bugs from predators and move them around and between plants. The removal of spiders from fields by ants often allows large populations of mealy bugs to develop, increasing the risk of severe mealy bug wilt outbreaks. The incidence is variable and sometimes high. The amount of wilt in a field is related to the number of mealy bugs present, the length of time they feed and the activity of ants.

Yellow spot

Damage symptoms

• Infection occurs on young crowns when they are still on the fruit or during the first few months after planting. Small (2–5 mm), round, yellow spots appear on the upper surface of the leaves of young plants. These spots fuse and form yellow streaks in the leaf tissue, which soon become brown and die.
• The virus spreads to the leaves in the plant heart, causing the plant to bend sideways. Infection eventually kills the plant so that the virus is not transmitted to subsequent plantings. If the crown is infected while still on the fruit, the fruit dies from the top downwards. Infections can occur through open blossoms causing the development of large, blackened cavities in the side of the fruit.

Survival and spread

• The viruses are transmitted to pineapple plants by small flying insects (thrips). Infection occurs mostly on plants during early growth, and crowns on developing fruit are occasionally infected.
• As infection is always fatal, vegetative propagation does not spread the virus to subsequent plantings.
• Tospoviruses have a wide range of hosts among weed and crop plants. The disease is rarely seen

IPM for Pineapple

To know the IPM practices for Pineapple, click here.

Source: NIPHM and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage

 

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175 ratings and

Pineapple Pests

1. Pests of National Significance
1. Insect and mite pests
2. Nematodes
3. Diseases
4. Rodents
5. Weeds
1. Broadleaf
2. Grasses
3. Sedges
6. Pests of Regional Significance
1. Insect pests
7. IPM for Pineapple

Pests of National Significance

Insect and mite pests

• Pineapple mealybug: Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)
• Pineapple scales: Diaspis bromeliae (Kerner) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae)
• Thrips: Holopothrips ananasi Costa Lima (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae).
• Pineapple fruit borer: Strymon megarus Godart (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)
• Pineapple fruit fly: Melanoloma canopilosum Hendel, M. viatrix Hendel (Diptera: Richardiidae)
• Pineapple red mite: Dolichotetranychus floridanus (Banks) (Trombidiformes: Tetranychidae)

Nematodes

• Root-knot nematode: Meloidogyne javanica
• Root lesion nematode: Pratylenchus brachyurus
• Reniform nematode: Rotylenchulus reniformis

Diseases

• Phytophthora heart (top) rot: Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands and P. nicotianae Breda de Haan
• Phytophthora root rot: Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands
• Base (butt) rot: Chalara paradoxa (Dade) C. Moreau
• Fruitlet core rot (green eye): Fusarium guttiforme Nirenberg & O'Donnell and Penicillium funiculosum Thom
• Fusariosis: Fusarium guttiforme Nirenberg & O'Donnell
• Green fruit rot: Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands
• Interfruitlet corking: Penicillium funiculosum Thom
• Leathery pocket: Penicillium funiculosum Thom
• Water blister: Chalara paradoxa (Dade) C. Moreau
• White leaf spot: Chalara paradoxa (Dade) C. Moreau
• Fruit rot by yeast and candida species: Saccharomyces spp. and Candida spp.
• Marbling: Pantoea ananatis and Acetobacter spp.
• Pink disease: Pantoea citrea, Gluconobacter oxydans or Acetobacter aceti
• Mealybug wilt disease: Ampelovirus transmitted by mealy bugs
• Yellow spot: Capsicum chlorosis virus (Tospoviruses)

Rodents

• Indian Porcupine: Hystrix indica (Kerr) (throughout India)
• Lesser bandicoot: Bandicota bengalensis (Gray) (throughout India)
• Palm rat/House rat: Rattus rattus (Linnaeus) (throughout India)
• Northern Palm squirrel: Funambulus pennant (Linnaeus) (Northern parts of India)
• Southern Palm squirrel: Funambulus palmarum (Linnaeus) (Southern parts of India)

Weeds

Broadleaf

• Pigweed: Amaranthus viridis Hook. F. Amaranthaceae
• Common purselane: Portulaca oleracea L. Portualacaceae
• False amaranth: Digera arvensis Forssk. Amaranthaceae
• Carrot grass: Parthenium hysterophorus L. Asteraceae
• Goat weed: Ageratum conyzoides L. Asteraceae
• Coat buttons: Tridax procumbens L. Asteraceae

Grasses

• Barnyard grass: Echinochloa crusgalli (L.) Beauv. Poaceae
• Bermuda grass: Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. Poaceae
• Cogon grass: Imperata cylindrica (L.) Raeusch. Poaceae

Sedges

• Purple nutsedge: Cyperus rotundus L. Cyperaceae
• Flat sedge: Cyperus iria L. Cyperaceae

Pests of Regional Significance

Insect pests

• Sugarcane midget: Elaphira nucicolora (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
• Bud moth: Opogona sacchari (Bojer) (Lepidoptera: Tineidae)
• White grubs: Phyllophaga spp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
• Fig beetle: Cotinis mutabilis (Gory and Percheron) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
• Pineapple weevil: Diastethus bromeliarum Champion (Coleoptera: Curculionidae

IPM for Pineapple

To know the IPM practices for Pineapple, click here.

Source: NIPHM and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage

 

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135 ratings and

Pineapple: Insect and Pest Management

1. Mealybug
2. Pineapple scale
3. Thrips
4. Pineapple fruit borer
5. Bud moth
6. Pineapple fruit fly
7. White grub
8. Fig beetle
9. Pineapple weevil
10. Pineapple red mite
11. IPM for Pineapple

Mealybug

Pineapple mealybug are ovoviviparous i.e., the eggs hatch within the female and give birth to larvae. They appear as cottony, small, oval, soft-bodied sucking insects. They are in variety of forms, of which pink coloured ones are commonly referred to as pineapple mealy bug. They mainly inhabit on seed material. These bugs have mobility only at younger stage

Biology

• Egg: These are minute, varying from 0.3 to 0.4 mm in length. Its development takes between three and nine days.
• Nymph: The nymphal stage contributes to complete dispersal of the bugs since their body is extensively covered with hairs. Hence they are called crawlers. The nymphal period extends up to 40-50 days. The first, second and third instars of larval stages last for 10 to 26 days, 6 to 22 days and 7 to 24 days respectively. Larvae only feed as a first instar and in the early part of the second instar.
• Adult: Adult females have soft, convex, pinkish body. Also their body is surrounded by 17 pairs of wax filaments. Lateral wax filaments are usually less than one fourth as long as the breadth of the body, and those towards the back of the insect are one-half as long as the body. The pre larvi position period for adult females lasts for around 27 days. The larvi position (giving birth to larvae) period lasts for an average of 25 days. They give birth to about 234 progenies but may produce up to 1000 crawlers. She may then live for another 5 days before dying. Duration of adult female varies from 31-80 days with an average of 56 days. There may be as many as 15 generations. Adult males are having a distinguishable number of eight antennal segments. Total life span 95 days.

Damage symptoms

• Mealy bugs become lethal when their population gets increased since the bugs suck the sap from leaves causing the plant to wilt.
• They are dispersed by ants. The sugary secretions of the mealy bug attract ants and they carry them making it vast spread. Also the excretion of honey inhibits the plants ability to manufacture food, form chlorosis of underlying plant tissues and cause rotting and leaking of fruits.
• When fruits are infested they become entirely covered with white, waxy coating making it unfit for marketing.
• Leaves appear pale green to yellow streaks; tips become brown.
• The predominant symptom is wilting of leaves commencing from the leaf tips.
• Reddish-yellow colour manifests in the wilting areas.
• Mealy bug causes quick wilt (result in yellow or red leaves) under heavy infestation or slow wilt (no definite colour change) in mild attack due to root damage.

Natural enemies of mealybug

• Parasitoids: 1. Anagyrus ananatis, 2.Anagyrus kamali
• Predators: 1. Ants, 2. Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, 3. Rodolia fumida, 4. Scymnus coccivora, 5. Dicyphus hesperus, 6. Dragonfly, 7. Damselfly, 8. Spider, 9. Robber fly, 10. Praying mantis, 11. Fire ants, 12. Lacewings, 13. Cheilomenes sexmaculata

Pineapple scale

Scale insects have three distinct life stages (egg, immature, adult) and may complete several generations in a single year.

Biology

• Egg: Adult females produce eggs beneath the scale covering or in a cottony material, and in many cases spend the cold winter months in this stage.
• Larva: Tiny six-legged crawlers emerge from the eggs, move to newer growth on the plant, insert their mouthparts and begin to feed. A scale-like covering produced from waxy filaments and feces then forms over each individual scale.
• Adult: Scale species are identified by the colour and shape of the covering. The covering protects scales from predation by other insects and from insecticides. The male scale is often a slightly different shape than the female and passes through a tiny, winged stage. The casual observer seldom sees winged stages. Females are wingless and usually remain in one place after inserting their mouthparts into plant tissues.

Damage symptoms

• A symptom of an attack is rust coloured spots.
• The insect is found beneath secretion, which serves as a shield.
• In the case of this insect the scale or protective armor is made up partly of a waxy secretion of the insect and partly of molted skins. The insect itself in the adult stage is quite well buried beneath the epidermis of the plant and hence there is necessity of combating the pest in its early stages.
• During periods of large populations, some scales become so abundant that an infested plant tissue is totally encrusted with insects.

Natural enemies of pineapple scales

• Parasitoids: Aphytis chrysomphali, Encarsia citrinus, Encarsia perniciosi
• Predators: Rhyzobius lophanthae, Chilocoris infernalis, Pharoscymnus flexibilis, Telsimia nitida, Predatory thrips

Thrips

Biology

• Egg: Females have a saw-like structure that helps to make an incision in plant tissue for egg laying. Usually eggs are laid into incisions in the epidermis of the leaves and stems of young plants. Eggs are elliptical, white, approximately 0.02 cm in length, placed singly, just under the epidermis of succulent leaf, flower, stem or bulb tissue. They are whitish at deposition and change to an orange tint as development continues. It will hatch within 4 to 10 days. Hatching young will immediately begin to suck sap and fluids containing nutrition.
• Larva: Larvae as well as the adult insects pierce the leaves and swallow the sap. Pupation takes place in the ground. The emerging adult is about 1 mm long and has a yellow-brown colour with dark cross stripes on the body. There are two larval stages and besides the adults they are the only damaging stages. Larval development is completed in about 9 days.
• Pupa: There are two non-feeding stages called the prepupa and pupa. They do not feed and occur primarily in the soil. Combined prepupal and pupal development is completed in 4-7 days.
• Adults: Adults are 0.02 cm long. Their body colour ranges from pale yellow to dark brown; wings are unbanded and dirty grey. Males are wingless and exceedingly rare. Females live for about two to three weeks and each can lay about 80 eggs. Mating for reproduction is not necessary. Females produce only female offspring without mating. Females can produce up to 80 eggs, that is why large populations can be generated within a short period. The entire life cycle is estimated as three weeks producing 5-10 generations in a year

Damage symptoms

• Thrips feed on the plant sap by damaging the leaves. The typical appearance of the damage is a silvery-flecked leaf surface which in severe cases turns brown. These leaves cannot sufficiently photosynthesis.
• Small black spots on the leaves, the excrements of the insects, are a sign of thrips infestation.
• Most thrips rest tightly against leaf veins or in crevices. They are primarily active during the daylight hours.
• Thrips are responsible for the transmission of many fungal and viral diseases in plants.
• When infestations are heavy, people and animals will be troubled with stinging thrips.
• These can also have positive effects on plants. A few species prey on destructive mites and scale insects, resulting in the formation of leaf mould.

Natural enemies of thrips

• Predators: Predatory mite, predatory thrips, Orius insidiosus, Coccinellids etc.,

Pineapple fruit borer

The pineapple fruit borer is considered as one of the principal pests of pineapple. The larvae bore into the fruit causing holes and uneven fruit development. Damage from this pest varies greatly but can reach more than 90% and drier climates seem to favour borer attack. In most cases fruit borer attacks occur during flowering and formation of the fruit, though this borer can attack slips and rarely act as a leaf miner.

Biology

• Egg: Eggs are white, circular and slightly flat and approximately 0.8 mm in diameter.
• Larva: Larvae complete their development within the fruit. Burrowing and feeding activities produce visible damage in the form of frass production and a sticky, gummy exudate.
• Adult: The reddish coloured caterpillar penetrates the inflorescence and remains in the tissue for 15 days, tunnelling and destroying the tissue. After this phase it moves to the base of the peduncle changing into a pupa 12 mm long and 5 mm wide with a brown colour and a few dark spots and emerges 7 to 10 days later as a butterfly. As the caterpillar destroys the tissues of the inflorescence a resin coloured liquid gum is exuded from between the fruitlets, which in contact with the air becomes reddish coloured and as it solidifies, turns dark brown. The adult moth has a greyish upper wing surface and a cream colour underneath with a wingspan of 28 mm to 35 mm. The adult can be found during the day or night, flying in a rapid and haphazard fashion. Eggs are laid on flowers from emergence to the end of flowering.

Damage symptoms

• The fruit borer larvae open galleries in the pulp, producing an oozing called “gummosis” on the outer side of the fruit.
• Insect damage leads to product rejection at the packing plant

Natural enemies of pineapple fruit borer

• Predators: Mirid bug (Dicyphus hesperus), reduviid bug, big eyed bugs (Geocoris sp) rove beetle, dragonfly, damselfly, spider, robber fly, praying mantis, red ants, lacewings etc.

Bud moth

Biology

• Egg: The eggs are hatched in 12 days.
• Larva: The eggs develop to larvae within 50-60 days. They are mobile and avoid light. The organism is infectious at this stage. It has seven instars of growth. The larvae appear as dirty-white and somewhat transparent and have a bright reddish-brown head with one lateral ocellus (small eye) at each side and clearly visible brownish thoracic and abdominal plates. They measured 21-26 mm in length having a diameter of 3 mm. The presence of older larvae can be detected by characteristic masses of bore-meal and frass (excreta) at the openings of bore-holes.
• Pupa: This stage lasts only for 20 days. The pupae are brown coloured and are of 10 mm and formed in a cocoon of 15 mm size. As the maturation progresses the pupae works itself to move to the next adult stage.
• Adult: Its life is only for 6 days. The females lay eggs in crevices of the plant tissue. It lays approximately 200 eggs. The adult is nocturnal and having a length of 11 mm with a wing span of 18-25 mm. They are bright yellowish brown. The forewings may show longitudinal darker brown banding and in the male a dark-brown spot towards the apex. The hind wings are paler and brighter. When they are at rest their antennae are pointed forwards. The life span totally depends on temperature and it gets shortened at warmer conditions causing only eight generations per year.

Damage symptoms

• Bud moth‟s larvae normally feed on decaying plant parts and further infesting surrounding healthy tissue. Also it attacks leaves and thus destroying the xylem tissues causing the leaves to wilt.
• The total growth of the plant retarded and further the whole plant perished
• A secondary infection of plant parasites and fungal pathogens make the effect more critical.
• When they attack on mature fruit they bore into the peel of the fruit causing exudation of secondary metabolites like gum.

Natural enemies of bud moth

• Predators: Coccinellids, mirid bug (Dicyphus Hesperus), reduviid bug, dragonfly, damselfly, spider, robber fly, praying mantis, red ants, lacewing, big eyed bugs (Geocoris sp), rove beetle

Pineapple fruit fly

Biology

• Egg: The female flies lay eggs within the fruit. The eggs are white and are tapered at the ends with a length of about 1.2 mm. They appear in colonies.
• Larvae: They are plant feeders. Sometimes they behave as saprophages invading decayed plant material. They also infest on fruits. They form cavities within the fruit which grow and coalesce and are called “spot with galleries”. All further development of the larvae takes place within the fruit. This further causes fermentation of the fruit. The larvae develop are yellowish white, vermiform and devoid of legs. Their total length is approximately 9.5 mm which is made up of 11 segments. Of which three pairs are at the thoracic region and there is a head region and the eighth at the abdominal region. The head region has small retractable cone shape with internal mandibular hooks. The first segment of the thorax has a pair of anterior spiracles with short extensions 12 to 14 digits. At the caudal region pair of posterior spiracles presents. Each of them has three openings surrounded by esclerotizada. At the outward area from them form a series of projections in the form of hairs called inter spiracular processes. The larvae mainly inhabit at the shell and fleshy part of the fruit.
• Pupa: Larvae continued to inhabit in fruits until the pupa state. Pupa stage lasts 15 to 20 days under laboratory conditions. The pupae are reddish brown, cylindrical capsule also with 11 segments. They project to a length of 5 mm with a diameter of 1.8 mm. The spiracles present are distinctive in nature and have well defined cephalic area.
• Adult: They have conspicuously pictured wings with metallic blue or greenish colour on the body and legs. Also they are ovipositors and lay eggs in fruits. Adult grows up to 5- 6.5 mm long having wingspan of about 1 cm. They are black coloured with abundant micro pubescecias. They have wide and short scuttellum. They presents with thorny hind femora of equal thickness. Their wings are clear devoid of any protrusions. It has a dark spot along its entire length. This extended to the wing margin and divide at the subcosta. The radial vein appears dark and cubitoanal cell is somewhat round.

Damage symptoms

• Pineapple fruit fly as the name defines it mainly infests fruits.
• The fruit damage starts when the female fruit fly punctures the fruit with its long and sharp ovipositor.
• The fruit skin is breached, and bacteria enter and the fruit starts to decay.
• The larvae that hatch from the eggs feed on the decaying fruit tissue, and on the yeasts and bacteria that multiply in it. Also the larvae groove into the pineapple.

White grub

Biology

• Egg: Eggs are usually 1.5 to 3 mm in diameter, oval in shape and found encased in soil aggregates. The egg is dull, small, spherical, pearly white that darkens just before hatching. The 20-24 mm long pupae may be creamy white, pale yellow or dark brown.
• Larva: Older scarab larvae develop within the soil among the roots of their pineapple. They feed upon organic matter within the soil as well. Although white grubs are not immobile, they do not disperse far from where the eggs were laid. White grubs are easily identified by their white or ivory-coloured, „C‟-shaped bodies, which are soft and plump. The posterior quarter to third of the larval abdomen is commonly a dark blue-grey colour, due to the contents of the digestive system. Fully grown grubs of larger species are 2.5 cm or more in length.
• Adult: The adults are fairly heavy-bodied insects; most of them with long, spindly legs. They range in colour from light, reddish-brown to shiny black and in size from 12-25 mm in length.

The usual duration of one complete generation (adult to adult) is 2 to 4 years depending upon latitude. Generations, however, are staggered so that grubs and beetles are present every year. Grubs are usually most numerous and damaging the second season following a large beetle flight. With the exception of the common May or June beetle, which has a three-year life cycle, the life history of the beetles mentioned above is completed in 12 months

Damage symptoms

• White grub infestations can destroy roots, causing the affected area to become spongy, which allows the sod to be rolled back like a piece of carpet.
• Evidence of grub damage, including patches of dead or dying turf, are visible during spring (April and May) and late summer and fall (September and October).

Fig beetle

Biology

• Egg: Females lay eggs (app. 60) in August and the eggs develop into larvae after 12 days and are especially attracted to compost and manure piles. Their eggs are whitish in appearance and be easily found over the soil.
• Larva: They have head and legs. They live on soil surface and have a length of 2 inches. Their life includes three instars of which first and second get completed by autumn and the final in the spring season of second year. At rest they curl into C shape. When the larvae get matured they become 2 inches long and become cream coloured. The body of larvae is stiff with brown hairs at the back of the thorax. These hairs are used for locomotion. They form hollow cells in the soil and pupate there.
• Pupa: After a few days it reaches a size of 12-50 mm. They develop by June- July. Its duration extends from 25-27 days. The pupae are of size 15 X 25 mm. They are whitish at initial stages and further change to cream coloured as that of larvae stage. At the maturing stages they slightly shift the colour to green.
• Adult: They develop by June- November. They lay their eggs in soil. They are white coloured and large sized approximately 12-50 mm in size. They feed on organic matter in soil surfaces. Adults are velvet green in colour. They occupy brownish bands around the edge of the wings and a bright metallic green at the ventral side. Adult females are 17 X 25 mm and adult males are 13 X 22 mm size. At the head portion they are equipped with horn like projections for penetrating into the fruit skin. Adults are tremendous fliers.

Damage symptoms

• The plant part affected mainly includes flower parts like pollen, nectar and petals, fruit and larvae damage roots.

Pineapple weevil

Biology

• Egg: The eggs are oviposited singly in shallow excavations made usually in the fruit stalk at the junction of the stalk and fruit of the pineapple. More rarely, females lay eggs at the base of the crown and in the basal shoots. The eggs are oval, dull, white and semitransparent.
• Larva: The larvae hatch in eight to ten days and tunnel upward in the rootstock or fruit stalk or in the fruit itself. The larval stage lasts for eight to ten weeks. The larvae are white except its head which is brown coloured. It grows to a size of 2.5 cm. The larvae of the pest are infective. It is motile and move up and down destructing the inner tissue of the flower stalk. This affects the normal growth of the fruit causing lack of crown.
• Pupa: The pupa is formed at the extremity of the tunnel lasting 18 – 24 days.
• Adult: The adults are poor fliers and require a great deal of protection from the direct rays of the sun. It prefers a very humid environment as it shows a preference for the recesses of dense vegetation. They are approximately 16.5mm – 22mm long. The female weevils lay eggs inside a hole within the plant part like base of the crown or base of the shoots. Adults appear 10.6 – 18.2 mm long. They are black or brown coloured with no scales over the body. They feed on leaves causing necrotic edges. Sometimes the fruits they attack rot.

The life cycle completed within 3 – 4 months

Damage symptoms

• The whole life span of the weevil occurs in the same plant.
• The female lays single egg in the slit created by them in the plant leaves. The larvae move to the stem causing tunnels in the plant.
• The larvae pupate in the central stem. There they make cocoon around the body for its growth. If the plant tissue remains enough the adult develops on the same host plant.
• The infestation causes the exudation of a gelatinous material which is protective for the weevil slits. The damage to the host plant includes adult feeding marks on the leaves, leaves browning, decomposition of base of central leaves

Pineapple red mite

Biology

• Egg: Orange in colour
• Larva: The larvae are pale and almost translucent. They often have three pairs of legs in the larval stage and four pairs of legs in the nymph and adult stages.
• Adult: Adults, nymph and eggs of this species are bright orange in colour when alive. The adult mite is approximately 0.3–0.4 mm long and 0.1 mm wide. When present on the plant, the mite is always found on the white basal portion of the leaves, where it feeds, particularly on the crown.

Damage symptoms

• These cause damage to leaves and fruits. Severe infestations produce large, dark brown lesions that almost cover the basal white tissue which can lead to necrosis and death of the leaves.
• In pineapple-production areas, it may frequently cause severe damage to recently established plants in the field.
• Plants that are infested in the early stages remain small and fruit production is either curtailed or non-existent. Heavily infested plants may die before producing fruit.
• It feeds the epidermal tissue to dry and crack which allows fungus and bacteria to enter the plants and cause the tissue rot and scarring and tissue malformation

Natural enemies of pineapple red mite:

• Predators: Syrphid/hover fly, Predatory gall midge (Feltiella minuta)

IPM for Pineapple

To know the IPM practices for Pineapple, click here.

Source: NIPHM and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage

 

3.06   

 

134 ratings and

Nutritional Deficiencies of Pine Apple

1. Nitrogen
2. Phosphorus
3. Potassium
4. Calcium
5. Boron
6. Copper
7. Iron
8. Zinc
9. IPM for Pineapple

 

Nitrogen

Stunted growth. Pale green to light yellow color (chlorosis) appearing first on older leaves, usually starting at the tips. Depending on the severity of deficiency, the chlorosis could result in the death and / or dropping of the older leaves.

Correction measure: Foliar spray of urea @1-2 % at fortnightly intervals

Phosphorus

Symptoms appear on older leaves. The leaves are small and narrow with purplish or bronze discolouration. Leaves develop necrotic areas and fall off.

Correction measure: Soil application of phosphotic fertilizer or Foliar spray of DAP@2%.

Potassium

Potassium symptoms appear first in older leaves having orange, yellow to pale green colour. Upper surface show reddish purple discoloration. Young leaves remain dark green. Leaves curl down and lose luster and turgidity.

Correction measure: Foliar spray of K₂SO₄ 1% at fortnightly intervals

Calcium

Young emerging leaves show chlorosis become pale green and curl down. Leaves later turn to greenish pink or red colour. The terminal shoot poorly developed.

Correction measure: Application of CaSO₄ @ 2kg / tree/year

Boron

Fruit necrosis which begins with the browning of inner most part of the mesocarpic tissues at the time of endocarp hardening. This is extended towards the epicarp resulting into brownish black areas on the fruit surfaces depending of the severity of the disorde

Correction measure: Foliar spray of borax@0.5%

Copper

Plants show overall droopy appearance with shortened intervals between petiole. Size of leaves reduced.

Correction measure: Foliar spray of 1-2% CuSO₄

 

Iron

Symptoms are first seen in the youngest leaves. The leaves eventually turn completely chlorotic.

Correction measure: Foliar spray of FeSO₄@0.5-1.0%

 

Zinc

Stunted growth narrowing of leaves with pale green or yellow color. Inter-veinal chlorosis starting from tip of leaflets and spreading to the remaining area leaving only the midrib green.

Correction measure: Foliar spray of ZnSO₄ @ 0.5%

 

IPM for Pineapple

To know the IPM practices for Pineapple, click here.

Source: NIPHM and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage