BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF GLOBOSE SCALE BY PARASITIC WASPS

Sponsored by NATO Collaborative Linkage Grant CPB.EAP.CLG 982206

Project Participants:
Coordinator from NATO country: Assoc. Prof. Dr Recep Ay
Participants from NATO country: Prof. Dr. Ismail Karaca
Prof. Dr Bulent Yasar
Assist. PhD student: Baran Aslan
Assist. PhD student: Ozan Demirozer

Coordinator from NATO partner country: Dr. George Japoshvili
Participants from NATO partner country: Dr Shalva Barjadze
Research scientist: MSc Nino Gabroshvili
Assist. MSc Giorgi Chaladze

The Aim of the project:

The Globose scale Spaerolecanium prunastri Fonscolombe is an exotic, polyphagous species especially dangerous to Fruit treess in Georgia and Turkey. In Georgia it is kept to low population level by its parasitoid complex Discodes coccophagus,Cerapterocerus mirabilis and etc. The picture in Turkey is completely different, although there are distributed parasitic wasps of Globose scale. The main goal of this project is the biological control of the Globose scale Sphaerolecanium prunastri in above mentioned countries, by the parasitic wasps from Chalcidoidea superfamily. Also the study of natural enemies complex involved in biological control of Globose scale population. The Globose scale and its parasitoid will be studied in open field and in laboratory. The parasitoid complex will be reared in laboratory condition at first to study its bioecological parameters, later with the purpose of exchange between countries. Further investigation will be carried out for verifying its effectiveness of Parasitic chalcids in the new introduction sites.
Obtained data will be used for further collaboration in the biological control.

Methodology:

Investigation will be carried out in laboratory and open field. Field observations and material collection will be carried out (using of generally accepted entomological methods) collect 10-20 cm shoots infested by Spaerolecanium parasitized by parasitic wasps from April to September in Georgian groves and Isparta province simultaneously where both groups of insects are present. Parasitized scale insects will be kept in laboratory in order to obtain parasitoid swarm. Studies on biology and ethology of the parasitoids will be carried out in laboratory condition. In the meantime, methods for rearing parasitoids on infested seedlings in laboratory will be developed, by infesting different host plants with Spaerolecanium and parasitizing the appropriate stages of the scale by Parasitoids.
Part of the parasitized material will be taken from Georgia to Turkey and vise versa from Turkey to Georgia, where appropriate laboratory conditions will be performed to receive the parasitoids. In May-June first attempts to release specimens of Parasitoids (Such as Discodess coccophagus, Cerapterocerus mirabilis, Coccophagus spp. (females and males) in different infested places of Georgia and Turkey will be carried out. Also in the laboratory conditions will be studied the biology of different parasitoid species and determine their specialization.
For successful fulfillment of this project the following visits are necessary: in April Turkish colleagues should visit Georgia for investigate the places infested by globose scale, the duration of visit will be 15 days and collect some material, later Georgian side will visit to examine plants damaged by Sphaerolecanium prunastri and to select sites where the parasitoids will be introduced and also collect infested material, the visit duration will be also 15 days. This procedure will be repeated a second time if necessary. Introduction of parasitoids to Georgia and Turkey will follows the rules of the FAO "Code of conduct for the import and release of exotic biological control agents". Laboratory conditions for reproduction of parasitoids also will be used in both countries.

Literature Cited

• JAPOSHVILI - 1999. On the population dynamics of the plum scale Sphaerolecanium prunastri Fonscolombe (Coccoidea, Coccidae) in Georgia. Entomologica, Bari, 33:403-407
• JAPOSHVILI G., YASNOSH V., KHAVTASI J. - 2002. The Globose Scale and it's parasitocomplex in Georgia and South-East Europe. Biology and Contemporaneity Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. pp. 72-76
• KARACA I., JAPOSHVILI G., DEMIROSER O. - 2003. The chalcid parasitoid complex (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) associated with the globose scale (Sphaerolecanium prunastri Fonscolombe) (Hemiptera: Cocco idea) in Isparta Province, Tur?key and some east European countries. Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection, 110(5), 2003, pp. 505-511.
• DEMIROZER O., KARACA I., JAPOSHVILI G. - 2004 Studies on Coccoidea (Homoptera) species and their natural enemies in the fruit orchards in Isparta province. Proceedings of ISSIS X, Plant Protection Research Institute, Adana, Turkey, 19-23 April 2004, pp. 223-231.
• SUGONJAEV E. - 1984. Chalcids scale parasitoids of USSR. pp 3-232.
• CAMPORESE P., PELLIZZARI G.- 1998- Osservazioni sul ciclo biologico di Ceroplastes japonicus Green in ambiente urbano. - Informatore fitopatologico,11: 42-50.
• KRAVCHENKO M.A. - 1991 - Acclimatization of the encyrtid Microterys clauseni Compere (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae) a new parasite of the Japanese Wax Scale Ceroplastes japonicus Green in the USSR. Entomological Review, LXX, 2: 355-360.
• PELLIZZARI G., CAMPORESE P. - 1994 - The Ceroplastes species (Homoptera, Coccoidea) of the Mediterranean basin with emphasis on C. japonicus Green. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr., 30:175-192.
• JIUANG H., GU H.G. -1988 - The bionomics of Ceroplastes japonicus Green and its parasitoids. (In cinese). Insect Knowledge, 25:154.