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Keywords
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Campbell Valencia orange, Citrus pest, Huanglongbing, Marsh grapefruit, Mexican lime
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Abstract
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The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), is one of
the most important and destructive pests of citrus in the world, because of its ability to
vector bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter americanus and Candidatus Liberibacter
asiaticus, the presumed causal pathogen of Huanglongbing (HLB) or greening disease.
The biology and reproduction parameters of D. citri were studied at 27.5°C on four host
plants corresponding to the four major varieties cultivated in Iran, namely, Marsh
grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), local sour orange (C. aurantium), Mexican lime (C.
aurantifolia), and Campbell Valencia orange (C. sinensis). The average developmental
period of total nymphal stages and total cycle (egg to adult) were significantly longer on
Campbell Valencia orange (21.2 and 24.1 days, respectively) than on other host plants.
The mean of pre-oviposition period on four host plants varied (2.4-4.0 days) and was
significantly longer on Campbell Valencia orange (4 days) than on other host plants.
Oviposition rate and total eggs laid were not significantly different between the different
hosts. Survival rate of D. citri was significantly lower on Campbell Valencia orange
(42.1%) than on the three other varieties. The finite rate of increase (λ) and the rm value
of D. citri were higher on Mexican lime (1.20 and 0.17, respectively) than on the three
other hosts. Also, mean doubling time was higher on Marsh grapefruit (11.84 Days) than
on other host plants. These new data give more insight about susceptibility of the different
varieties of citrus to D. citri.
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