5. Biology of mango inflorescence gall midges Desineura amaramanjarae recently found in Sindh, Pakistan
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Abstract
Gall midges are major pests in all mango cultivated areas of the globe. A complex of gall midge’s damages mango in Pakistan. The Dasineura amaramanjarae Grover, 1965 (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), one such midge pest that feeds on mango inflorescence, was first time recorded in Sindh during 2008. They damage many parts of the plant including the leaves, shoots, bark, pre and post-flowering shoot buds, inflorescence buds, axillaries, newly formed fruit and twigs. The biology of mango inflorescence Dasineura amaramanjarae, was studied. The results showed that the adult emerged between 8.00 am to 12.00 am and matting started soon after adult emergence, mostly recorded in the morning time. The female of Dasineura amaramanjarae lay their eggs (40-50) in 8-10 minutes’ interval. After hatching, the young larvae start their feeding, destroy the flower buds and also make a small tunnel in branches. The infested buds had red-coloured petals, the flower buds become dark, dry and fall off. The inflorescence gall midges were recorded from January to June, the activity of midges was at the peak in the month of March and decreased up to June. After full feeding, mature larvae leave the inflorescences and enter to the soil for pupation. The mean percent of infested inflorescence was determined at 50.21% and 65.71% respectively. In natural conditions the development from egg to adult completed in 373.00-448.00 hours respectively. These results illustrated the biological plasticity of Dasineura amaramanjarae . Consequences of these results to elaborate IPM strategies against the mango inflorescence gall midges are discussed.
Keywords: Biology; Dasineura amaramanjarae ; Gall midges; Inflorescence; Mango; Pests; Sindh