See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305889639 Pomegranate arthropod pests and their management in the Mediterranean area Article in Phytoparasitica · July 2016 DOI: 10.1007/s12600-016-0529-y CITATIONS READS 11 756 5 authors, including: Giuseppe Eros Cocuzza Gaetana Mazzeo University of Catania University of Catania 99 PUBLICATIONS 527 CITATIONS 57 PUBLICATIONS 556 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Agatino Russo Salvatore Bella University of Catania Council for Agricultural Research and Agricultural Economy Analysis 94 PUBLICATIONS 1,155 CITATIONS 84 PUBLICATIONS 476 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: VIRTIGATION - Save tomatoes and cucurbits from viruses View project Stored product protection View project All content following this page was uploaded by Giuseppe Eros Cocuzza on 10 September 2020. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Pomegranate arthropod pests and their management in the Mediterranean area Giuseppe E. Massimino Cocuzza, Gaetana Mazzeo, Agatino Russo, Vittorio Lo Giudice & Salvatore Bella Phytoparasitica ISSN 0334-2123 Phytoparasitica DOI 10.1007/s12600-016-0529-y 1 23 Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science +Business Media Dordrecht. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be self- archived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com”. 1 23 Author's personal copy Phytoparasitica DOI 10.1007/s12600-016-0529-y Pomegranate arthropod pests and their management in the Mediterranean area Giuseppe E. Massimino Cocuzza & Gaetana Mazzeo & Agatino Russo & Vittorio Lo Giudice & Salvatore Bella Received: 4 March 2016 /Accepted: 25 July 2016 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016 Abstract Here we review the arthropod pests most toward avoiding the introduction of two species that damaging to pomegranate cultivation in the main pro- could become a serious problem for pomegranate that duction regions of the Circum-Mediterranean area, and are Thaumatotibia leucotreta and Deudorix isocrates. discuss the eventual phytosanitary risks linked to some The main morphological and biological characteristics newly introduced species in this geographical area. The of each pomegranate pest species and the tools available arthropod species mentioned here are based on their in their integrated and organic control are briefly occurrence and economic importance. These are either presented. mites (Tenuipalpidae) or insects belonging to Hemiptera (Flatidae, Aphididae, Aleyrodidae, Coccidae, Keywords Punica granatum . Mediterranean basin . Diaspididae, and Pseudococcidae), Lepidoptera Insects . Mites . Natural enemies . Pest management (Cossidae, Lycaenidae, Erebidae, and Pyralidae), Dip- options tera (Tephritidae), and Coleoptera (Bostrichidae and Nitidulidae). In the Circum-Mediterranean area, the ma- jor pests are Aphis punicae, A. gossypii, Planococcus Introduction spp., Zeuzera pyrina, Apomyelois ceratoniae, Deudorix livia and Cryptoblades gnidiella. A nod is also given to The pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is native to those species normally considered as minor pests that, in Central Asia. Subsequently, since ancient times, it has some environment and under specific conditions, can be been cultivated throughout Middle Asia and North Af- of major concern. Particular attention should be paid rica. More recently, pomegranate has been cultivated in all continents. World pomegranate production is cur- rently estimated at 1.5-2 million tonnes, 90 % of which G. E. M. Cocuzza (*) : G. Mazzeo : A. Russo Di3A - Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, is in Iran and India. The rest is distributed amongst Università degli Studi di Catania, via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, various Mediterranean countries (mainly Spain, Turkey, Italy and Israel), China, the United States, Armenia, Azerbai- e-mail: [email protected] jan, Pakistan, and Argentina (CBI 2014). The consump- V. L. Giudice tion of pomegranate as fresh fruit or juice has recently Agronomist, via Calvario 45, 95030 Mascalucia, Catania, Italy increased due to its many recently discovered medicinal properties. Several studies have demonstrated its bene- S. Bella ficial effects on health (e.g. the prevention of some CREA-ACM – Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria, Centro di Ricerca per l’Agrumicoltura e le cardiovascular diseases and prostate cancer) (Malik Colture Mediterranee, Corso Savoia 190, 95024 Acireale, Catania, et al. 2005;Wangetal.2011; Vilahur et al. 2013), due Italy to its richness as an important source of phytochemicals Author's personal copy Phytoparasitica and their derivatives (mostly polyphenols) and to its and occurrence of the young nymphs in spring. Damage high content of antibacterial agents (Gil et al. 2000; is caused by the removal of sap, the large amount of Al-Zoreky 2009; Fischer et al. 2011). The cultivation honeydew produced, and wax that daub the vegetation of pomegranate has also recently been revaluated for the with the subsequent development of sooty mould. Fruit crop's positive agronomic characteristics, such as the covered by honeydew is greatly depreciated in value. In high adaptability to various climatic or soil conditions Europe, the insect is well controlled by Neodrynus and the limited water requirements that suit its cultiva- typhlocybae (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera, Dryinidae), an tion on marginal land (Costa and Melgarejo 2000; introduced parasitoid (Lucchi 2000). Sporadic infesta- Chandra and Jadhav 2008). Texeira da Silva et al. tion is often a direct consequence of incorrect cultural (2013) extensively review the main agronomic charac- practices or inappropriate use of non-selective insecti- teristics of the pomegranate (Table 1). cides that reduce populations of non-target beneficial The development of extensive pomegranate cultiva- insects. The best method of control is to restore the tion, especially in the Mediterranean area, has not been biological equilibrium. followed by adequate strategies of pest control, fre- Several species of white flies (Aleyrodidae) can in- quently due to the lack of information available for the fest pomegranate. These insects are localised mainly on pests that can attack the cultures. The pomegranate is the underside of leaves. An infestation can be detected also considered a Bminor crop^ in Europe, which has by foliar yellowing and abundant production of honey- limited the availability of chemicals for use in programs dew on which sooty mould develops, covering the plant, of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The pomegran- including fruits. Heavy attacks on pomegranate can ate has many pests that, if not well managed can seri- cause defoliation and smaller fruit size. A sudden infes- ously affect commercial fruit production. Except the tation by these insects is frequently due to improper papers of Juan et al. (2000), Kozina et al. (2011)and agricultural practices or to the use of insecticides that Grafton-Cardwell (2013) that focus on pest species af- eliminate natural enemies or alter the equilibrium of the fecting pomegranate, to date, the key review articles on agro-ecosystem, favouring the uncontrolled develop- pomegranate deal with agronomic aspects of its cultiva- ment of pest populations. Moreover, the exclusive use tion, providing only few information on pests and the of insecticides is never fully effective for the control of best strategies for their control (Holland et al. 2009; whiteflies (Gyeltshen et al. 2014). Glozer and Ferguson 2011). The present article reviews The citrus whitefly, Dialeurodes citri (Ashmead), is the pests of pomegranate in the Mediterranean area, primarily a pest of Citrus spp., and the attacks on pome- describing their harmfulness, their main morphological granate are rather episodic. This species probably origi- and biological characteristics and the techniques used in nated in India but now it is almost cosmopolitan. The their integrated and organic control. We also discuss the body and wings of adults (about 1 mm in length) are most damaging species occurring in the main pome- covered with a white, powdery wax. Nymphs are flat- granate production areas of the world and the risks of tened, oval, light yellowish, and without a waxy secre- their possible introduction to the Mediterranean area. tion. D. citri develops 2–3 generations per year in Med- iterranean areas and 5–6 in the tropical areas of origin. Numerous natural enemies can effectively control this Hemiptera pest on Citrus trees. Abd-Rabou and Simmons (2014) recorded 29 species of parasitoids and 15 of predators in The citrus flatid planthopper Metcalfa pruinosa (Say) Egypt, of which the parasitoid Encarsia lahorensis (Flatidae) is a polyphagous pest (recorded on more than (Howard) (Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae) and the predator 200 botanical species) that occasionally attacks pome- Clitostethus