PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 2:37 PM by Luigi

Papaya in Guam

By Katie Worth

Papaya, anyone?

A year ago, it looked like Guam residents might not be able to make that offer much longer, as the island's papaya crops were being razed by an imported killer three millimeters long -- the papaya mealybug.

Fortunately, however, scientists have come to the rescue and Guam's papaya crops are now growing their way back to health.

In June of 2002, Rangaswamy Muniappan of the University of Guam's Agricultural Experiment Station, with the help of biological control specialists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, began releasing three species of microscopic, stingless wasps imported from Puerto Rico to combat the destructive papaya mealybugs.

According to Muniappan, the parasitic wasp seeks out a mealybug and deposits an egg inside of it. The egg then grows into a larva, and essentially eats the mealybug from the inside out, thereby killing it, he said.

"It's been very, very successful," said USDA biological control specialist Dale Meyerdirk, noting that at sites they've been monitoring for the last year, papaya mealybug populations have dropped by more than 95 percent.

Farmer Bernard Watson, who said his papaya crop was destroyed by the bugs before the parasites were released, corroborated the data.

"The parasites have done an excellent job at controlling the (mealybug) population," Watson said. "Before they started releasing them, ... it was pretty bad. It almost brought a lot of people's productions to a halt."

The papaya mealybug originated in Mexico, Meyerdirk explained, and at some point jumped to islands in the Caribbean. When those islands' papaya crops were wiped out, scientists went to Mexico to find the natural enemy of the pests.

Scientists found the parasites that kill the Papaya mealybugs, and after sending them to a facility in Delaware for extensive research into any possible negative environmental consequences, they introduced them to the Caribbean islands, and later to the U.S. mainland, which the bug later infested. Those programs were successful, Meyerdirk said.

Hitchhiking

So when the papaya-killing bug found its way to Guam, probably by hitchhiking on some imported fruits, the obvious solution was to import the parasites as well, Meyerdirk said.

The papaya mealybug has spread from Guam to Palau, Muniappan said, adding that he, Meyerdirk and USDA entomologist Richard Warkentin flew to Palau last weekend to establish a similar biological control program there. Muniappan said the bug had not yet been reported on Hawaii or other Pacific islands.

The bug has an impact on many species of plants, Muniappan said, including hibiscus and the ubiquitous plumeria. He said the bugs' saliva is toxic to the plants, so when the bugs pierce the plants to suck out the sap, they poison them.

The parasites shouldn't present a problem to the island, Meyerdirk said, because their population decreases as the mealybug's population decreases.

"But the parasite will never totally eliminate its host because if it did that it would die out," he said.

There are other species of mealybugs, including the pink hibiscus mealybug, that also plague Guam. Similar biological controls exist for those bugs, but so far they haven't been implemented because they affect mostly ornamental plants, therefore, there is less pressure to fund those projects.

But at least the papaya mealybugs are no longer a scourge to the island, Muniappan said.

"Right now this problem on Guam is solved, and it didn't cost the farmers anything," Muniappan said. "They are satisfied because last year at this time they couldn't plant papaya."

The island's farmers are again growing papayas, now that an introduced species of papaya-killing mealybug has been mitigated by another introduced insect.

Pacific Daily News: www.guampdn.com



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A year ago, it looked like Guam residents might not be able to make that offer much longer, as the island's papaya crops were being razed by an imported killer three millimeters long -- the papaya mealybug. Fortunately, however, scientists have come to the rescue and Guam's papaya crops are now growing their way back to health. In June of 2002, Rangaswamy Muniappan of the University of Guam's Agricultural Experiment Station, with the help of biological control specialists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, began releasing three species of microscopic, stingless wasps imported from Puerto Rico to combat the destructive papaya mealybugs. According to Muniappan, the parasitic wasp seeks out a mealybug and deposits an egg inside of it. The egg then grows into a larva, and essentially eats the mealybug from the inside out, thereby killing it, he said. "It's been very, very successful," said USDA biological control specialist Dale Meyerdirk, noting that at sites they've been monitoring for the last year, papaya mealybug populations have dropped by more than 95 percent. Farmer Bernard Watson, who said his papaya crop was destroyed by the bugs before the parasites were released, corroborated the data. "The parasites have done an excellent job at controlling the (mealybug) population," Watson said. "Before they started releasing them, ... it was pretty bad. It almost brought a lot of people's productions to a halt." The papaya mealybug originated in Mexico, Meyerdirk explained, and at some point jumped to islands in the Caribbean. When those islands' papaya crops were wiped out, scientists went to Mexico to find the natural enemy of the pests. Scientists found the parasites that kill the Papaya mealybugs, and after sending them to a facility in Delaware for extensive research into any possible negative environmental consequences, they introduced them to the Caribbean islands, and later to the U.S. mainland, which the bug later infested. Those programs were successful, Meyerdirk said. Hitchhiking So when the papaya-killing bug found its way to Guam, probably by hitchhiking on some imported fruits, the obvious solution was to import the parasites as well, Meyerdirk said. The papaya mealybug has spread from Guam to Palau, Muniappan said, adding that he, Meyerdirk and USDA entomologist Richard Warkentin flew to Palau last weekend to establish a similar biological control program there. Muniappan said the bug had not yet been reported on Hawaii or other Pacific islands. The bug has an impact on many species of plants, Muniappan said, including hibiscus and the ubiquitous plumeria. He said the bugs' saliva is toxic to the plants, so when the bugs pierce the plants to suck out the sap, they poison them. The parasites shouldn't present a problem to the island, Meyerdirk said, because their population decreases as the mealybug's population decreases. "But the parasite will never totally eliminate its host because if it did that it would die out," he said. There are other species of mealybugs, including the pink hibiscus mealybug, that also plague Guam. Similar biological controls exist for those bugs, but so far they haven't been implemented because they affect mostly ornamental plants, therefore, there is less pressure to fund those projects. But at least the papaya mealybugs are no longer a scourge to the island, Muniappan said. "Right now this problem on Guam is solved, and it didn't cost the farmers anything," Muniappan said. "They are satisfied because last year at this time they couldn't plant papaya." The island's farmers are again growing papayas, now that an introduced species of papaya-killing mealybug has been mitigated by another introduced insect. Pacific Daily News: www.guampdn.com * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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