Population Dynamic of Citrus Blackfly, Aleurocanthus woglumi (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), in Tahiti Lime in the eastern of the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Citrus blackfly, Aleurocanthus woglumi is a serious citrus insect pest. The objective of this study was to determine the population dynamic of the CBF in a commercial citrus orchard in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in a commercial orchard of Tahiti acid lime (Citrus latifolia Tanaka). Twenty-six evaluations of the A. woglumi population were conducted in 10 randomly selected plants from 23 Aug 2011 to 15 Aug 2012. Data from population dynamics originated in total collection of 200 leaves per collection, and the infestation rate calculated per leaf. In total, 15.87% of the leaves were infested by eggs, showing 0.45 clutch per leaf, and 2.82 clutches per infested leaf. The acme of egg population occurred in August 2011 (52.92 eggs/leaf), and the lowest egg population was in July 2012 (1.84 egg/leaf). We counted 44,420 eggs, with a mean of 22.16 eggs per clutch. The lowest and highest number of eggs per egg mass were 7 and 53, respectively. The western quadrant showed significantly more A. woglumi egg masses than the northern. From total leaves, 22.63% were infested by nymphs, with an average of 22.41 nymphs per infested leaf. The quantities of A. woglumi nymphs in the western and eastern quadrants were similar, and higher, than the other quadrants.