Mango shoot gall psylla: bioecology and management - a review.
Rahman S. M. A., Kuldeep, Singh V. P.
Author Affiliation: Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Gwaldam, Distt-Chamoli (Uttaranchal), India.
Progressive Research 2 : 7-10
Abstract : Shoot gall is one of the most serious problems of the mango cultivation. Apsylla cistellata (Buckton) (Psyllidae-Homoptera), the causal organism, interferes fruiting directly by affecting panicle formation. A severely affected tree yields very little fruits as compared to ten times or more from a healthy tree. It induces axillary and apical buds into the cone shaped green galls, which directly interfere with the formation of inflorescence, and subsequent growth is arrested, resulting in no or low yields. Owing to the formation of galls, most of the affected branches dry out after the emergence of the insect and opening of galls. It was reported that a heavily infested tree yields only 10-20 kg fruits as against 300 kg from a healthy tree. It was also observed that affected trees did not yield in the succeeding year as the new growth had been arrested in the preceding years. The only effective control measure against this insect is the use of insecticides such as demeton-o-methyl, dimethoate, monocrotophos, methyl parathion and endosulfan before gall formation in the rainy months of August-September.