Pink Hibiscus Mealybug: A Crop Disease that Affects Agriculture

Agriculture in the Caribbean and other tropical regions is negatively affected when there is an infestation of the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug, scientifically called Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green). This pest has the propensity to destroy crops and ornamental gardens as well as fruit tree orchards. Farmers and gardeners lose financially when there is an infestation.

Spotting Pink Hibiscus Mealybug

I can remember travelling from St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands to New York, USA via the Cyril E. King International Airport in 1999. I was attempting to carry some dried tea bush for my family in the States. The Customs Officer, immediately on inspection, spotted the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug and discarded the bush.

According to ‚”The Pink Hibiscus Mealybug,” a publication by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), this crop pest can ‚”grow into large masses of white, waxy deposits on branches, fruiting structures, leaves, and even whole plants, including large trees.” This particular mealybug is called ‘pink’ because the females are pink, wingless but are covered with white mealy wax.

Farmers & Gardeners Lose with Pink Hibiscus Mealybug

According to Mrs. Arona Fahie-Forbes, the Deputy Chief Agricultural Officer in the British Virgin Islands in her lecture notes on the ‚”Hibiscus/Pink Mealybug”, the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug was ‚”first observed in Virgin Gorda in June 1996 and later that year on Tortola” in the British Virgin Islands. Pink Mealybug affects a variety of fruits and vegetables such as citrus, okra, pumpkin, papaya, tomato, cucumber, dasheen, sugarcane, mango, guava, sugarapple, pigeon peas, peppers and soursop.

As the pest’s name suggests, it also affects varieties of hibiscus. According to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences in ‚”Pink Hibiscus Mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green),” it also affects Anthurium, Bougainvillea, Croton, ginger lily, Ixora, palm, and oleander. The Pink Hibiscus Mealybug is like a silent killer because once it finds a host, it latches on in a sheltered spot like on the under the leaves, inside of exposed bark or sometimes around the roots.

Pink Hibiscus Mealybug is a Crop Disease that Spreads Quickly

Once Pink Hibsicus Mealybug infects a greenhouse or a nursery, it will soon spread. According to APHIS, this insect ‚”can complete its entire life cycle in as little as 30 days.” One mature female can lay up to 654 eggs in one sack and egg development takes between 3 to 9 days. Pink Hibiscus Mealybug can disperse in the wind, on animal or humans, through infected cuttings, plants and fruits.

Effects of Pink Hibiscus Mealybug

Pink Hibiscus Mealybug causes the growth and development of a plant to deform. It is easy to spot a hibiscus plant that has been infected with the Pink Mealybug because in addition to observing a white substance on the plant, the leaves will be short, curled and deformed. The buds will most likely fall off.

Okra is also very susceptible to Pink Mealybug and farmers will notice that the vegetables and leaves are curved and not growing well. This causes farmers to lose income because in some dire cases, the entire crop is not marketable and can barely be used in the home. The soursop fruit, for example, grows very deformed when Pink Hibiscus Mealybug thrives on it and in many cases spoils before it ripens.

Combating Pink Hibiscus Mealybug

As Pink Hibiscus Mealybug multiplies quickly, an observant farmer can save his crop and an observant gardener can save his ornamentals. Plants, trees and fruits are to be checked under the leaves, at the roots and spots where the bark is peeling for any possible infestation.

• Contact your Government Agency for Agriculture: If a white mass is spotted on plants that are susceptible to this crop disease, it is important to contact the local governing body responsible for agriculture to report the sighting. The Division of Plant Industry of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services suggests that if farmers or gardeners have already cut plants with the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug, they should ‚”double-bag in plastic all plant cuttings (leaves, branches, flowers, etc.) and put them out with regular household garbage, not yard trash.”
• Biological Control is Key to Combating Pink Hibiscus Mealybug: Mrs. Fahie-Forbes, APHIS and the Florida Division of Plant Industry all encourage biological control to combat the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug. The ladybug, scientifically called Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, is a predator of the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug. There is also a wasp-like parasite, scientifically called Anagyrus kamali, is a parasite to this crop pest.

Many farmers and gardeners wait until their plants are drastically infested with the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug before seeking assistance. White masses that appear on hibiscus, papaya, okra, sugarapple or other plants cause the plants, trees, fruit and flowers to be deform. Pink Hibiscus Mealybug can cause financial losses to farmers, greenhouses and nurseries if it is not dealt with in the early stages. While the constant monitoring of plants and the burning of infested plants can be helpful, the best way to combat the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug is through the introduction of its natural predators or parasites.