How to fight lemon cochineal? (Aspidiotus nerii)

Categories : Chronology , Citrus fruits

Index

White lemon mealybug: life cycle

What lemon cochineal looks like: damage

How to get rid of white lemon cochineal?

cocciniglia-del-limone

The white lemon cochineal is a sucking and stinging insect that, while preferring lemon, attacks any citrus fruit, just like the cottony mealybug.

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White lemon mealybug: life cycle

The lemon cochineal or Aspidiotus Nerii, winters protected by the shield generally as an unfertilized female. The first matings can be detected in spring and, after 15 days of incubation, the first generation larvae (neads) emerge, ready to position themselves on the vegetation. There is a second generation in July, a third at the end of August and a possible fourth generation, however less strong, in late summer, early autumn.

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What the white lemon cochineal looks like: damage

cocciniglia-del-limone

The white lemon cochineal is recognizable by the color and shape of its follicle (consisting of silk, wax, excrement, and exuviae from the previous preimaginal stages). This protective shield protects females and second-generation nymphs, making them resistant to most common insecticides. Its presence can be seen on: twigs, leaves and fruits.

Aspidiotus nerii prefers to attack the leaves in particular, positioning itself along the veins where it feeds by sucking linfa. The evident sign of its action is manifested by yellowing, desiccation and phylloptosis. Collateral damage is the formation of sooty mold, commonly known as citrus sooty mold.

The affected fruits struggle to grow, thus reducing the commercial value: the areas surrounding the cochineal settlement points remain green (these points are more visible on ripe fruits).

Excessive nitrogen fertilization, creating luxuriance, favors the development of attacks of Aspidiotus nerii. Correct pruning makes the insect easily accessible by treatments, making the fight more effective.

How to get rid of white lemon cochineal?

Our team decided to opt for the use of our antagonistic septa, considering them a valid alternative to the use of pesticides. Unlike conventional treatments, in fact, beneficial insects are extremely selective in parasitization, avoiding damaging not only non-offensive species, but the entire surrounding environment. This practice is aligned with respect forsustainability, ensuring the rebalancing of the eco-system, and respect for the final consumer (guaranteeing the latter zero-kilometer products).

The strategy we recommend is the mixture of the following products:

Aphytis (4 packages per hectare. Treatment to be repeated 4 times after a month)
White vegetable oil, on free sale, (1 liter and a half per quintal to be applied, if necessary, only once after 15 days from the introduction of the parasitoid). Our advice is to use white oil at night, to avoid burns.

Maintaining the same strategy, it can be replaced by white vegetable oil, Biolid Up , white paraffin mineral oil, at a dosage of 1-1.5 lt/ha (LICENSE REQUIRED)

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