Back to Package of Practice > Pest and Diseases
What is scale?
It is the group of insects which feeds the cell sap by sucking and piercing in tender plant parts.
Life cycle of scale
Eggs – The eggs are pink to dark red in colour. Female lay eggs about 2000 eggs.
Nymphs – The hatching period takes place in 2-3 weeks. Nymphs are pink in colour.
Adults – The adults are elliptical, reddish brown with short anal process. Adults are mostly found on twigs and branches. The size of the female is about 2 to 4 mm in length and 1 to 3.5 mm in width.
How does it damage the plants?
- The damages are caused by sucking cell sap from leaves and twigs of the plants causing yellowing and wilting of plant.
- While feeding, soft scale insects excrete a sweet, sticky substance called honeydew. Honeydew is a mixture of undigested sugar and water passed through the insect’s digestive system and deposited onto leaves and stems.
- Honeydew may make the plant appear shiny and wet and also attracts flies, ants, bees, and other insect.
- The honeydew may encourage a fungus called sooty mold that gives the plants a characteristic black, “sooty” appearance causing disturbance in photosynthesis process.
How to control and manage the scales?
Good canopy management by regular pruning followed.
Cleanliness is the best effective way to control any pest by collecting and removing debris away from the orchard.
Spray Methidathion to control the insects.
Source– George, A., Broadley, R., Hutton, D., Redpath, S., Bignell, G., Nissen, B., Bruun. D., and Waite, G. (2015). Integrated Pest and Disease Managementmanual for Custard Apple. Queensland Department Of Agriculture And Fisheries.
AESA based IPM package of Custard Apple. Department of Agriculture and Cooperation Ministry of Agriculture Government of India
R. Maruthadurai and V. Karuppaiah (2014). Managing Menace of Insect Pests on Custard Apple.Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Beechwal, Bikaner, Rajasthan.
2005 OEPP/EPPO,Bulletin OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 35, 371–373
