Occurrence and Control Methods of the Comstock Mealybug in Pear Orchards

(1) Occurrence patterns The Comstock mealybug belongs to the order Homoptera, family Pseudococcidae. Also known as the pear mealybug, plum mealybug, and mulberry mealybug. It generally produces three generations per year, overwintering as eggs and nymphs in hidden places such as cracks in the rough bark of tree trunks, bagged diseased and pest-infested fruits scattered in the orchard, weeds around the root zone, soil clods, and fallen leaves. Adults and nymphs suck the sap of tender buds, tender shoots, and fruits. Before bagging, it mainly damages tender buds and tender shoots, causing leaves to twist, swell, and shrivel, leading to branch dieback. After bagging, it burrows into the bags to damage the fruit, gathering in the calyx depression and stem depression, secreting white wax powder, contaminating the fruit, sucking the sap, and causing the fruit to lose its commercial value and edible value. (2) Control methods ① Orchard cleaning: carefully scrape off the rough old peeling bark, and clean up old paper bags, diseased and pest-infested fruits, residual leaves, and dry damaged saw cuts. ② Before bud break: spray 5 degrees Baumé lime sulfur mixture to eliminate overwintering eggs and insects. ③ Before bagging (early May): this is the peak hatching period of the first-generation eggs, when the larvae gather together and have not yet dispersed. Spray 1500-fold 40% Supracide emulsifiable concentrate. ④ When spraying, pay attention to making the spray fine and uniform, especially on the middle and lower parts of the canopy and the inner canopy.