Abstract

FERNANDEZ, Miriam; MIRANDA, Ileana  and  DIAZ, María Elena. COMPETENCE OF Diaphorina citri KUWAYAMA AND Phyllocnistes citrella STAINTON IN THE CITRUS AGROECOSYSTEM OF ISLA DE LA JUVENTUD, CUBA. Rev. Protección Veg. [online]. 2007, vol.22, n.1, pp. 18-24. ISSN 2224-4697.

Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae: Phyllocnistinae), (MHC) is one of the most dangerous phytophages in Citrus. It first was detected in Isla de la Juventud on December 1993 and later, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) invaded the crop on February 1999. This insect is as dangerous as P. citrella. The low population density of this pest and the high population density of D. citri suggested the competitive displacement between both species. In order to verify this, a two year old field was sampled weekly; and live miners and psylid populations on the buds of 30 plants previously fixed at ramdon were counted from March 2002 to March 2003. Lotka_Volterra´s interspecific competence model was used. The model out come showed that Phyllocnistes citrella was displaced by D. citri because the steepness of the interespecific line (D. citri) lied above that intraespecific line (Phyllocnistes citrella). Plotting population densities of both species were proved in the time.

Keywords : Diaphorina citri; Phyllocnistis citrella; competitive displacement.

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