Welcome, fellow mango enthusiasts! There’s nothing quite as delightful as sinking your teeth into a juicy, ripe mango. However, maintaining healthy mango trees can be challenging, especially with various pests that wreak havoc on these tropical beauties.
This blog post will explore the ten most common pests that threaten mango trees, including fruit flies, leafhoppers, thrips, mango leaf webbers, mealybugs, midges, shoot borers, stem borers, stone weevils, and pulp weevils, including their symptoms, identification methods, treatment options, and effective control and management strategies. Let’s check out the 10 common mango tree damaging pests below.
What is Mango Farming and Overview?
Mango trees are evergreen and produce edible fruit. It is native to India and Burma region and grown worldwide, including Kenya. Mango trees may reach 45 meters and survive over 100 years. The fruit is irregularly oval. Soft yellow-orange flesh. Yellow-green to crimson skin. Mangoes provide vitamins A, C, and D. Low in calories and fat.
Mangoes can be juiced, chutneyed, or cooked. Mangoes have varied flavors and textures. Mangoes need full light and loamy, well-drained soil. Monitoring mango trees for pests and diseases is crucial. Mango trees enhance home gardens. They are easy to grow and produce exquisite fruit for years.
10 Common Mango Tree Damaging Pests
Fruit Fly Damage on Mango Tree
Identification
- Fruit fly species include Ceratitis cosyra, Bactrocera obliqua, Bactrocera frauenfeldi, and Anastrepha spp.
- Adult fruit flies are small insects with colorful bodies and distinctive wings.
- Fruit fly maggots are white, legless larvae found inside infested fruits.
- The damage caused by fruit fly infestation leads to fruit flesh browning and softening.
Symptoms
- Adult female fruit flies lay eggs just under the skin of semi-ripe fruits.
- Maggots develop and feed inside the fruit, making the flesh turn brown and soft and emitting a foul smell.
- Infested fruits serve as entry sites for fungal and bacterial pathogens.
- Mature larvae come from the fruits and pupate in the soil, completing their life cycle.
Treatment and Control
- Fruit Collection: Collect and destroy fallen fruits to prevent the maggots from pupating.
- Early Harvest: Harvest fruits early to minimize damage caused by fruit fly infestation.
- Traps: Use traps to monitor and control fruit flies. Prepare traps by drilling holes in a plastic container and adding apple cider vinegar and a drop of unscented liquid dishwashing soap. Hang