Abstract:
Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is grown commercially on a large scale across all tropical and
subtropical lowland areas throughout the world. It is a good source of vitamin A and C, and is
rich in carbohydrates, potassium and phosphorus. It isthe major fruit crop grown in Benshangul
Gumuz Region of western Ethiopia for family consumption and markets. The production in the
region is currently constrainted by infestation of white mango scale, Aulacaspis tubercularis
Newstead. This research was conducted to assess damage status and evaluation of management
options in Assosa and Bambasi from August 2018 to April 2019. Survey data of white mango
scale infestation status and growers’ assessment collected from randomly selected of 7 kebele
administrates of Amba_14, Amba_5, Amba_8 and Megele_32 from Assosa district and
Mender_47, Mender_48 and Sonika from Bambasi district and 35 household with their
respective mango orchards 5 per kebele administrates within 5 – 10 km interval. A well- structured questionnaire and face-to-face survey approach were used for assessment. Stratified
sampling method was used for selecting 10 leaves per tree for 9 consecutive months; hence 90
leaves from each tree and 3150 sample leaves from 35 mango trees for counting the clusters of
white mango scale insect pest for the study of infestation. Randomized complete block design
(RCBD) was used for evaluation of Imidacloprid 20SL, Dimethoate 40%EC, White oil extract, Pruning, Imidacloprid 20SL + Pruning, Dimethoate 40%EC + Pruning and White oil extract +
Pruning. The survey result showed that growers’ perceived that there was a heavy infestation of
white mango scale insect pest which is a new pest and mainly dispersed by planting materials,
due to unmanageable mango size nature and backyard farm production made management
difficult which results a significant yield reduction. White mango scale insect pest infestation
was significantly higher at Assosa than at Bambasi orchards and more abundant on upper leaf
than on lower leaf surface. Infestation status was significantly varied among study months;
lowest and highest record during December and April respectively. Temperature influence the
infestation positively; a maximum record during maximum temperature of the study month April.
High amount and continued rain fall and relative humidity influence infestation negatively. Optimum rain fall and relative humidity and also unmanaged mango orchards condition made
the infestation serious. Experiment against white mango scale infested mango trees using
Dimethoate 40%EC, white oil + pruning, Imidacloprid 20SL, and Dimethoate 40%EC +
pruning treatments gave higher yield and statistically significant different from pruning and
white oil treatments but their costs were such that they did not provide an acceptable rate of
return. Imidacloprid 20 SL + pruning treatment was the most significantly effective which also
provide a promising alternative cost to producers against white mango scale insect pest than
other treatments.Therefore it is recommended to regular inspection and monitoring, develop a
strong domestic quarantine, investigate resistance mango varieties and further screening of IPM
compatible insecticide for providing sustainable management approach of white mango scales
insect pest.
Keywords: White mango scale, Mango orchard, Distribution, Abundance, Severity st