PINEAPPLE RESEARCH STATION (KERALA  AGRICULTURAL  UNIVERSITY), VAZHAKULAM, MUVATTUPUZHA

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Pests & Diseases

Plant Protection - Kew

 

No serious pests or diseases are noticed in the crop except for light incidence of leaf spot disease and of the mealy bugs. 

 

Mealybug infestation

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plantprotection - Kew_clip_image004

Association of ants

Mealybug wilt

with mealybugs

Mealybugs (Dysmicoccus sp.) infest commercial pineapple plantings, affecting pineapple production in several ways. The rapid spread of this malady in the field is largely due to the feeding habit of bugs. Symptoms first appear on roots which cease to grow, eventually leading to collapse of tissues. Feeding of Dysmicoccus species on pineapple produces a toxic effect called mealybug stripe, expressed as green or black striped areas. The most predominant symptom is wilting of leaves, commencing from leaf tips. Reddish-yellow colour develops in the wilting areas. Finally the plants rot and develop decaying suckers. Fruits developed are undersized. Ants of several species act as carriers of mealy bugs.

 

Management:

For control of mealy bugs, adopt the following measures: Apply quinalphos at 0.025%, fenitrothion 0.05% or fenthion 0.05%.  Destroy grasses and other monocot weeds, which serve as alternate hosts for the pest.

 

Leaf Spot:

Leaf spot occurs frequently in moist and warm climate.  Small water soaked areas developed on leaves, which gradually enlarge.  The affected portions become pale yellow in colour and gradually dry up.  This disease is caused by Phytophthora spp. 

 

Management:

For control of leaf spot, spray with any one of the following fungicides when symptoms of the disease are noticed:
Zineb:                     1 kg in 225 litres of water / ha
Mancozeb:               1 kg in 225 litres of water / ha
Ziram:                     1 kg in 225 litres of water / ha

 

Plant Protection - Mauritius

 

Sun burn:

This anomaly occurs usually when the pineapple plant leans or falls over exposing one side of the fruit directly to the rays of the sun, thus resulting in long exposure of the peel, and flesh beneath it, to fairly high temperatures.

Affected fruits show a yellowish color in the area exposed to the sun. As the anomaly progresses the yellow area changes to brown and the flesh beneath it becomes more translucent. The peel may crack between the fruitlets, the flesh dries out and becomes spongy. The occurrence of sunburn during early stages of fruit development reduces the growth rate on the area exposed to the sun thus resulting in an asymmetric fruit.

During summer months protection from the scorching sun can be done by putting dried grasses, coconut or arecanut leaves.

 

Diseases:

Heart rot/root rot:

Disease symptoms:

plantprotection - Mauritius heart,root rot 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heart rot disease of pineapples caused by Phytophthora spp. is characterised by yellow-red coloured leaves that are easily pulled from the plant and white leaf bases that bear a distinct water-soaked grey-brown transverse lesion. The lesion progresses slowly from the base of the leaf to the tip. Rotting pineapple fruit tissue may also smell badly. If the pineapple plants develop root rot, aboveground symptoms include stunting and low yield.

Heart rot caused by Psuedomonas spp. is characterized by yellowing, leaf tip dieback, and tipping of the plant caused by rotting of the growing point.

Pineapple leaf spot occurs frequently in moist and warm climate of parts of India. Initial symptoms are in the form of water soaked lesions on the leaves. The spots later on enlarge in size and gradually dries up.

 

Management:

Providing drainage is most essential for the management of heart rot.  The water table should be at least 60 cm below the soil surface.  Badly affected plants should be destroyed and the remaining plants should be drenched with 0.4% Hexaconasole in the soil.  Leaf spot can be controlled by spraying 0.2% zineb / mancozeb / ziram.

 

Pests:

Mealy bugs (Dysmicoccus brevipes / Pseudococcus bromeliae):

Mealybugs infest commercial pineapple plantings, affecting pineapple production in several ways. The rapid spread of this malady in the field is largely due to the feeding habit of bugs. Symptoms first appear on roots which cease to grow, eventually leading to collapse of tissues. Feeding of Dysmicoccus species on pineapple produces a toxic effect called mealybug stripe, expressed as green or black striped areas. The most predominant symptom is wilting of leaves, commencing from leaf tips. Reddish-yellow colour develops in the wilting areas. Finally the plants rot and develop decaying suckers. Fruits developed are undersized. Ants of several species act as carriers of mealy bugs.

Spray quinalphos 0.025-0.05% or fenitrothion 0.05% or fenthion 0.05% or chlorpyriphos 0.05% or dimethoate 0.05% or monocrotophos 0.05%.  Care should be taken that the spray shall reach the base and also the sides of the plant.  The plot should be kept weed free.  For the control of mealy bugs, control of ants is a must.  Hence apply carbaryl to control ants in its colonies in the farm.


Scale insects (Diaspus bromeliae):

The spraying of chemicals for the control of mealy bugs, mentioned above, will be sufficient for the control of scale insects.

 

KAU POP Recommendation for pest, disease and mosquito problems

To avoid any pest, disease and mosquito problems in pineapple, sufficient phytosanitory measures are to be adopted in the pineapple field.

  1. The field has to be kept weed free.  If necessary, weedicides are to be applied for weed control.  In newly planted areas, Diuron (Klass etc) can be applied @ 1 kg/ha in 600 litre of water, as a pre-emergent weedicide.  The application will be most effective when done within one month of planting.  In the existing crop, weeds in the interspaces can be controlled by the application of Paraquat (Gramoxone etc.) @ 0.8 kg/ha.  Care should be taken that weedicides shall not fall on pineapple plants.
  2. For the control of adult and larval population of mosquitoes, spray or pour Chlorpyriphos insecticide (Hilban, Classic, Tricel etc) @ 0.05 % (2.5 ml of commercial formulation in one litre water) into the heart and leaf axils of the plant so that each plant gets at least 100 ml of the diluted spray fluid.  This will also control the mealy bugs in pineapple. Mealy bug is a serious pest in pineapple causing yield reduction.  If the mealy bugs are not controlled, it may lead to the infection of virus diseases in pineapple which will further reduce yield and increase crop loss. 

  3. Avoid water stagnation in field. Drainage of water will prevent mosquito population also.  Due to continuous raining, root rot diseases may be expected in some plots, where there is no proper drainage.  If the diseases are wide spread, fungicides are to be applied on need basis.  For this Mancozeb (Dithane, Hilthane, Indofil etc) @ 0.2 % (2 g of commercial formulation in one litre water) has to be sprayed or poured into the heart and leaf axils so that each plant gets at least 100 ml of the spray solution. 

 

Both Chlorpyriphos and Mancozeb can be mixed and applied simultaneously, if necessary.

More ...

Diseases of pineapple (Ananas comosus): Pathogen, symptoms, infection, spread & management   PDF

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Quality People, Infrastructure & Work Culture for Quality Technology, Products & Services. Merit alone counts for quality suitable for the purpose. One has know-how only when it is proven in real life.Copyright © 2010 Pineapple Research Station, Kerala Agricultural University. Best viewed in IE 5.5 or above, 1024x768 screen, scripts enabled. Last modified: 23 Jun 2014. Webmaster: Dr. P. P. Joy, Associate Professor & Head, Pineapple Research Station (Kerala  Agricultural  University), Vazhakulam, Muvattupuzha, Ernakulam District, Kerala, India, PIN-686 670, Tel. & Fax: +91 485 2260832, Cell: +919446010905, E-mail: prsvkm@kau.in. Constructive comments, suggestions and criticisms are most welcome and please mail to prsvkm@gmail.com.