Quantification of direct and indirect damage caused by Diceroprocta bulgara (Distant) (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in lime

Abstract

Objective: To quantify the direct and indirect damage caused by Diceroprocta bulgara in the cultivars of Persian lemon, Mexican with and without thorn, Colimex and Lise, in the Oaxaca Coast.

Design/methodology/approach: The damage caused by D. bulgara was recorded their nests in each tree. In each plot, 15 trees were randomly selected to evaluate tree height, crown diameter, number of damaged vegetative growth flows, diameter of the first three flows, length of damage and oviposited eggs. In three planting densities of Lise and Colimex, the loss of fruit was estimated due to the indirect effect of the insect (kg ha^-1).

Results: The incidence of damage was from 79% (Mexican without spines) to 95% (Colimex). A slight correlation between tree size and damage was observed, larger trees showed a higher percentage of affected flows. The flow with the highest frequency of damage was the second (31.99%) and the first with the lowest (17.33%). The lowest number of eggs oviposited was 26 on the flow 1 in the Mexican lemon, and the maximum of 171 in the spineless one. The higher number of eggs was recorded in Persian lemon (371). A significant relationship was determined between the number of eggs with the length of damage and flow diameter (<0.05). The highest number of mummified fruits (15.6) was observed in Colimex (density 312 trees ha-1), estimating that up to 146 kg of fruit could be lost.

Findings/conclusions: In the present work, the direct and indirect damage caused by the cicada D. bulgara was quantified for the first time, which represents a loss of fruit in productive trees. Studies on the biology of the insect are suggested for future integrated management plans.