Differential susceptibility of eleven mango cultivars to galling by mango gall fly (Procontarinia matteiana Kieffer & Cecconi (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)).
Schoeman A. S., McGeoch M. A., Githure W. C.
Author Affiliation: Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
Yearbook - South African Mango Growers' Association 16 : 23-26
Abstract : The susceptibility of cultivars Heidi, Tommy Atkins, Sabre, Zill, Peach, Kensington, Haden, Keitt, Kent, Irwin and Sensation to galling by P. matteiana was established for leaf flushes of late 1994, early 1995 and late 1995 at Lisbon Estates. The late 1995 Lisbon Estates data were compared to the leaf flush of the same 11 cultivars, for the same period, from trees at the Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops (ITSC), Nelspruit. Leaf area, number of galls per leaf and gall density were used in this comparison. With the exception of Heidi, which had significantly smaller leaves, leaf areas did not differ markedly between cultivars or between localities. Sensation was resistant to mango gall fly attack (antixenosis), whereas the presence of pseudogalls on Keitt, Kent and Irwin demonstrated the presence of strong antibiosis in these cultivars. The remaining cultivars showed some level of susceptibility, and Heidi consistently had the highest gall density. Kensington had significantly lower gall densities in most flushes, whereas gall density on Tommy Atkins, Sabre, Zill, Peach and Haden varied between flushes and localities. The leaves of Tommy Atkins were more severely galled at Lisbon Estates than at ITSC, whereas the leaves of Haden were more severely galled at ITSC. The consistency of these findings between flushes, and in a preliminary comparison between two orchard localities, confirms that the level of susceptibility to mango gall fly is cultivar related.