Hot-Water Treatments for Control of Planococcus ficus (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) on Dormant Grape Cuttings

• Published in: Journal of economic entomology 2005-08, Vol.98 (4), p.1109-1115
• Main Authors: Haviland, David R., Bentley, Walter J., Daane, Kent M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; COMMODITY TREATMENT AND QUARANTINE ENTOMOLOGY; Control; disinfestation; dormant grape cuttings; duration; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Generalities; grapes; Hemiptera - physiology; Hot Temperature; hot water treatment; hot-water treatments; immersion period; insect control; Insect Control - methods; Insecta; Invertebrates; mealybug control; mortality; nursery controls; nursery stock; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Planococcus (Homoptera); Planococcus ficus; plant cuttings; Protozoa. Invertebrates; Vitis - parasitology; Vitis vinifera; Water; water temperature
• ISSN: 0022-0493; 1938-291X; 0022-0493
• DOI: 10.1603/0022-0493-98.4.1109

Hot-water immersions were tested for control of mealybug Planococcus ficus (Signoret), on dormant grape cuttings used for nursery stock. A range of hot-water temperatures (47–58°C) were evaluated at immersion periods of 2, 5, 10, or 20 min, by using a total of 353,720 mealybugs across all treatments. A 5-min immersion at 51°C is effective in killing >99% of P. ficus. At or above this immersion period and temperature, there was no difference in mealybug stage mortality. We evaluated a commercial operation, which used a 5-min immersion in each of three water tanks: preheating (30.0 ± 3°C), hot-water (52.8 ± 0.3°C), and cooling (23 ± 3°C). The commercial procedure provided 99.8–100% mealybug control in each of three separate trials.