Biodiversity of mealybugs, their host range and bio-control agents associated in different districts of Chhattisgarh plains

The survey of host range of mealybugs in five districts of Chhattisgarh plain regions namely Rajnandgaon, Balod, Dhamtari, Mahasamund and Raipur districts in which 132 plant species were observed. Among these, 72 plant species belonging to 28 families were identified as hosts out of which two species were of pulses (2.78%), one oilseed (1.39%), ten vegetables (13.89%), twelve fruits (16.67%), one fibre (1.39%), one sugarcane crop (1.39%), nineteen ornamentals (26.39%), fifteen medicinal (20.83%), two forest trees (2.78%) and nine plants under weeds (12.50%). The highest number of host plants of mealybugs were recorded in the family Malvaceae and Asteraceae followed by Fabaceae, Apocynaceae, Solanaceae, Rosaceae, Amaranthaceae and Lamiaceae. Among 72 plant species, 36 species of host plants were found having low infestation, 12 species had medium infestation and 24 plant species were observed to be highly infested by mealybugs. A total of eight mealybug species namely Ferrisia virgata Cockerell, Maconellicoccus hirsutus Green, Nipaecoccus viridis Newstead, Paracoccus marginatus Williams and Granara de Willink, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley, Rastrococcus iceryoides Green and seven species of their natural enemies i.e., Cheilomenes sexmaculata, Brumoides suturalis, Scymnus sp., Chrysoperla sp., spiders as a general predator and Aenasius sp. and Pseudleptomastix mexicana as parasitoid were observed during the present studies. Among the Mealybugs species, P. solenopsis Tinsley was noticed as the most dominant species which observed on 14 species of different host plants infested with maximum 46.66 percent.