Gamma radiation phytosanitary treatment for Hemiberlesia lataniae (Hemiptera: Diaspididae)

VAN NIEUWENHOVE, GUIDO; OVIEDO, A.; PÉREZ, JULIANA; RUIZ, M. JOSEFINA; DALTO, M. YESICA; VILLAGRÁN, M. F; CAZADO, LUCAS; HORAK, CELINA I.; GASTAMINZA, G.; WILLINK, E.; HALLMAN, GUY J.

FLORIDA ENTOMOLOGIST

FLORIDA ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC

Lugar: Nueva York; Año: 2016

0015-4040

The latania scale, Hemiberlesia lataniae (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) is a cosmopolitan and highly polyphagous species present on various hosts of economic importance. As with other scales, H. lataniae is quarantined by importing countries and a single viable insect can cause regulatory action. Ionizing irradiation is a promising phytosanitary treatment that is increasingly used worldwide. This study was conducted to determine a dose of radiation that would serve as a phytosanitary treatment for commodities at risk of carrying H. lataniae. Cobalt-60 gamma ray target doses of 50, 100, 150, and 200 Gy were used to irradiate immature and adult stages of H. lataniae infesting fruits of butternut squash, Cucurbita moschata Duschesne ex Lam (Cucurbitales: Curcubitaceae). Tolerance to irradiation in H. lataniae as measured by mortality was found to increase progressively as follows: first instars < second instars < adults. Adult females irradiated with a target dose of 200 Gy failed to produce offspring beyond the egg stage. Large scale tests involving a total of 31,877 female adults showed that a dose of 209 Gy (the highest dose measured when the target dose was 200 Gy) can serve as a phytosanitary treatment against H. lataniae. These results also support a generic dose of 250 Gy for all scale insects.