Pests of tropical mushroom and their management

Abstract

The occurrence of mushroom pests and their extent of damage in five different locations in Thiruvananthapuram district were studied in a survey conducted at monthly intervals for a period of one year from April 2006 to March 2007. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of various botanicals and synthetic insecticides for the management of major pests of mushroom in the Mushroom house, Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani. The study revealed that the common pests of mushroom were springtails Seira sp., phorid flies Megaselia sp., sciarid flies, cucujoid beetle Cyllodes sp., staphylinid beetles viz., Staphylinus sp. and Scaphisoma nigrofasciatum Champ, noctuid moth, parasitic mite Poecilochirus necrophori Vitzthum, slugs and snails. Of these, the occurrence of Cyllodes sp., P. necrophori, noctuid moth, slugs and snails in oyster mushroom were reported for the fist time from Kerala. The common pests of mushroom namely Seira sp., Megaselia sp., S. nigrofasciatum, Cyllodes sp. were observed throughout the year in all the five locations. Staphylinus sp. was observed in three locations for a period of one year. P. necrophori and slug population were recorded only in one location from September 2006 to March 2007. Correlation studies between the population and extent of damage with weather parameters revealed that Seira sp., P. necrophori and slugs had positive correlation with relative humidity and rainfall, while it showed negative correlation with maximum temperature. Population of Megaselia sp., S. nigrofasciatum, Cyllodes sp., Staphylinus sp. were positively correlated with maximum temperature and negatively correlated with relative humidity and rainfall Efficacy of various botanicals and synthetic insecticides applied at different intervals after bed preparation on the incidence and extent of damage caused by mushroom pests in mushroom beds showed that lindane 0.05 per cent applied as floor treatment before bedding was the most effective. This was followed by dichlorvos 0.02 per cent and chlorpyriphos 0.02 percent applied at fifteenth day after bed preparation, which were at par. Among the various treatments adapted for the control of pests in mushroom, floor treatment with lindane before bedding has been found superior compared to other treatments. Considering a better control of pests and absence of residues, the floor treatment with lindane can be suggested for getting an effective control of pest, which presumed to result in a consequent higher yield.