Glasilo biljne zaštite, Vol. 12 No. 4, 2012.
Professional paper
Olive psyllid - Euphyllura olivina (Costa, 1839) (Hemiptera:Psyllidae) an occasional pest in olive
Mladen Šimala
; HCPHS - Zavod za zaštitu bilja
Tatjana Masten Milek
; HCPHS - Zavod za zaštitu bilja
Abstract
Olive psyllid - Euphyllura olivina (Costa, 1839) is present in all Mediterranean olive-growing areas. In Croatia, it is a sporadic olive pest. The adults overwinter on the host. There are 5-6 generations of olive psyllid per year and the most damaging are the first two spring generations. Infested trees are contaminated with masses of wax and sticky honeydew (upon which sooty moulds develop) produced by larvae. Feeding may cause flowers to drop prematurely. Large populations are able to retard the growth of young trees. Psyllid activity is closely linked to the plant growth status and climatic conditions. Since in Croatia olive psyllid generally causes little damage to the olive, chemical control, except in rare cases, is not recommended. Focused application of insecticides to control this pest is usually not required if the regular control measures against the olive moth and olive fruit fly are taken. Biological activity of a number of parasitic and predatory insects that attack the olive psyllid is basically sufficient to maintain pest populations below economic threshold. Agro technical measures to reduce the pest populations and damage to the olives include quality pruning, suckers and watersprouts removal during summer and autumn-winter period, dense planting avoidance, optimum fertilization by nitrogen fertilizers and selection of an appropriate olive pruning system.
Keywords
Olive psyllid (Euphyllura olivina); morphology; biology; damage; control
Hrčak ID:
168863
URI
Publication date:
1.5.2012.
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