La situación del psilido asiático de los cítricos (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama) (Hemiptera: Liviidae), vector de Huanglongbing en Ecuador

Abstract

THE WORLD'S MOST DESTRUCTIVE CITRUS PROBLEM IS HUANGLONGBING, A BACTERIAL DISEASE CAUSED BY CANDIDATUS LIBERIBACTER SPP. THE ASIAN PSYLLID, DIAPHORINA CITRI (HEMIPTERA: LIVIIDAE), ITS MAIN VECTOR IN THE AMERICAS, WAS DETECTED IN ECUADOR IN 2013 AND ALTHOUGH THE DISEASE HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED, IT IS NECESSARY TO PREPARE FOR THE EVENTUAL ARRIVAL OF THE HUANGLONGBING. IN ORDER TO COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT D. CITRI IN ECUADOR, SEARCHES WERE CARRIED OUT THROUGH DIFFERENT DATABASES ON RESEARCH ON THE PEST IN THE COUNTRY. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT D. CITRI IS PRESENT IN 10 OF THE 24 ECUADORIAN PROVINCES, WHOSE BIOLOGY STUDIES INDICATED A CYCLE LENGTH OF 16 DAYS. TWENTY NATURAL ENEMY TAXA (TWO PARASITOIDS AND 18 PREDATORS) WERE DETECTED. LABORATORY STUDIES INDICATE THE SHORT CYCLE OF THE MAIN PARASITOID, TAMARIXIA RADIATA (HYMENOPTERA: EULOPHIDAE), WHICH GIVES IT ATTRIBUTES AS A NATURAL ENEMY. THE POPULATION FLUCTUATIONS OF THE PEST AND PARASITISM REFER TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE BIOLOGICAL AGENTS, WHICH COULD BE USED IN MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS FOR THIS PEST. RESEARCH ALSO MENTIONS THE HIGH USE OF CHEMICAL INSECTICIDES AMONG CITRUS GROWERS, WHICH COULD HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL PROGRAMS.