04 Haz 2025 Çarşamba
Mango leaf cutting weevil (Deporaus marginatus (Pascoe)): Biology, incidence, biosystematics and molecular diversity
Abstract : Among the defoliators of mango, the mango leaf cutting weevil (MLCW), Deporaus marginatus (Pascoe) is an important pest. The adult weevils made scissor-like cut on the young tender mango leaves. In nurseries and on young mango plants, damage was more severe. The affected plants could easily be identified from a distance by its typical trimmed leaves. The gravid female placed one or more small, smooth, white, cigar-shaped eggs on the leaf lamina close to the midrib. The leaf blade was neatly cut at the petiole and then dropped to the ground, according to critical observation. The neonate larvae on hatching fed between the leaf surfaces. The larva was apodous, curled, yellowish white, and stout. The full grown larva emerged from the dried leaves and moved into the soil to pupate and constructed a tiny, round earthen cocoon. The average egg, larval and pupal duration ranged from 1.75– 2.75, 5.50–6.75 and 6.50–9.75 days, respectively, under laboratory conditions. Adult females survived longer (41–61 days) than its male counterpart (39–53 days). Gravid female laid 63 to 79 eggs during her life-time. The morpho-taxonomical features of the adult weevils are also described in the present study. In addition, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I gene of the adult weevil was amplified, sequenced, analysed and the sequence data was submitted to NCBI (OR922394).