The ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI) here is organising a one-day brainstorming session, ‘Management of mealybugs in cassava: Present status and future strategies,’ on Tuesday at its Sreekaryam campus.
Panelists include S. C. Dubey, Assistant Director General (Plant Protection and Biosafety), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, and S. N. Sushil, Director, National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR), Bengaluru.
A detailed roadmap for tackling mealybugs, pests which wreak havoc in a number of crops including cassava (tapioca), is the expected outcome of the session.
Worldwide, three species of mealybugs affect cassava. The more harmful of the trio, Phenacoccus manihoti - commonly called the cassava mealybug, was first reported in India from Thrissur in April 2020.
The CTCRI session will focus on the use of the parasitoid wasp Anagyrus lopezi - a natural enemy of the cassava mealybug - for tackling the pest. The NBAIR had introduced Anagyrus lopezi into India in 2021 for biological control of the cassava mealybug. Subsequently it was released in Tamil Nadu in 2022 and in Thrissur in April 2023.
The parasitoid wasp will be distributed to all KVKs, the agriculture department and progressive farmers. There will be technical sessions about all the mealybugs as well as on the use of the parasitoid against cassava mealybug, CTCRI director G. Byju said.
The one-day session will bring together scientists from NBAIR, CTCRI, Kerala Agricultural University and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University along with different stakeholders including officials from all Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Kerala, State Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, progressive farmers and students.
