Evaluation of grasses for cultural control of Myndus crudus, a vector of lethal yellowing of palms.
To identify grasses unfavorable as breeding hosts of nymphs of Myndus crudus Van Duzee (Homoptera: Cixiidae), a vector of lethal yellowing (LY), which is a disease of palms associated with mycoplasmalike organisms, 15 types of grasses (species and cultivars) grown in containers were exposed to field-collected adult M. crudus. Host suitability was measured by the relative degree of colonization of grass roots by the nymphs. Eight grasses were less suitable than Floratam St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum [Walt.]) (P0.01), which was used as a standard. Three of these grasses were compared with Floratam St. Augustine grass in two field tests in which the numbers of adults captured in emergence traps placed for 1-week periods over 2 m2 plots were determined. In the first field test, the numbers of M. crudus captured in traps over St. Augustine grass were at least five times higher than the numbers captured over palisade grass (Brachiaria brizantha Hocht.), Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana Kunthe), and a selection of limpo grass (Hemarthria altissima [Poir.]) (P0.01). In the second field test there were three times more M. crudus adults collected from St. Augustine grass than from palisade and Rhodes grass (P0.07). Management of the grasses under palm plantings is a potential method of suppressing M. crudus populations and thus curtailing the spread of LY.
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Texto biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1990 : [Publisher not identified]
|
| Subjects: | Amarillamiento fatal, Enfermedades de las plantas., insectos vectores, Myndus crudus., Palma de aceite, |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|