The papaya mealy bug (Paracoccus marginatus) in Cameroon

Publication Date

Thu, 05 Feb 2015, 13:32

Last Updated

Feb. 5, 2015, 1:33 p.m.

Report Number

CMR-03/4

Country

Cameroon

Pest Id

Paracoccus marginatus - (PACOMA)

Report Status

Preliminary

Hosts

Beside the papaya plant, its preferred host, the papaya mealy bug attacks more than 80 plant species including crops, weeds and ornamentals (cassava, cocoyam, egg-plant, jatropha and frangipani.

Pest Status (old values from ISPM 8 -1998 )

• Present: only in some areas

Pest Status (ISPM 8 - 2021)

• Present: not widely distributed and under official control

Geographical Distribution

The papaya mealybug is native to Mexico and the Central America. It has invaded the caribbean archipelago in the nineties before expending gradually to all tropical regions of the world. Following its accidental introduction into Ghana in 2009, it expanded to Togo, Benin and Reunion in early 2010 then, Centre of Nigeria, Gabon and Cameroon at the middle of the year 2011. In Cameroon, it was recovered in May 2013 in the Littoral Region, precisely in the town of Douala infesting papaya plants. After Douala, the PM has recently invaded the town of Yaoundé from the train main station and is now damaging papaya plant in the following quarters: Fouda, Essos, Omnisport, Ngousso and Hypodrome. If no action is taken, the PM would continue its expansion and probably invade the whole country.

Summary

The papaya mealybug is native to Mexico and the Central America. It has invaded the caribbean archipelago in the years 1990 before expending gradually to all tropical regions of the world. Following its accidental introduction in Ghana in 2009, it was reported for the first time in Cameroon in 2011 and was recovered in May 2013 in the Littoral Region, precisely in the town of Douala. The PM is now present in the Littoral and Centre region. Beside the papaya plant, its preferred host, the papaya mealy bug attacks many others plant species including crops, weeds and ornamentals. Plants of economical importance are cassava, cocoyam, yam and avocado etc. Damages on papaya plant are huge and can lead to the death of the plant in case of explosive population. The current limited distribution of the PM in Cameroun is an indication of its recent introduction. Effort are now undertaken to limit its expansion and its introduction to the main papaya production area in Cameroon (Unpublished data).

Danger

During the feeding process, toxic substances are injected in the plant causing malformation, yellowing and early leaves drop, slow the plant growth and finally kill the plant few months after. The great papaya production zone between Njombe, Penja and Loum is still free of the PM. However, the presence of the PM in the Littoral region put this zone under higher invasion risk.

Contact for info

Francis LEKU AZENAKU Director of Regulation and Quality Control of Agricultural Inputs and Products (DRCQ) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) NPPO / IPPC Contact Point, Cameroun P.O Box 2201, Messa, Yaounde, Cameroon Tel: (237)22316770, (237)77606713, (237)22316771

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