Abstract

GONZALEZ VAZQUEZ, Rosa Elena; CASTELLON VALDES, María del Carmen  and  GRILLO RAVELO, Horacio. Extent of injuries caused by Tarophagus colocasiae Matzumura (Auchenorrhyncha: Delphacidae) in plantations of Colocasia esculenta Schott, in Cuba. Rev. Protección Veg. [online]. 2016, vol.31, n.2, pp. 94-98. ISSN 2224-4697.

In December 2014, it was noticed the presence of an insect pest on taro (Colocasia esculenta Schott.) for the first time in Cuba. From this date, high populations of an insect of the family Delphacidae were detected causing damages in plantations of this crop at Agropecuaria Horquita in the province of Cienfuegos, Cuba. The aim of this study was to identify the insect and determine the extent of the injuries caused by it. The species identification was performed at the Laboratory of Taxonomy of the Agricultural Research Center. The extent of the injuries caused by the pest was determined by a diagnosis that included the description of the injuries, for which the lesions observed in affected plantations were compared with those obtained by infesting the C. esculenta plants with the insect at the laboratory, and the implementation of a survey of producers of this crop. The insect was identified as Tarophagus colocasiae Matzumura. The injuries caused by the insect was observed in 72.3% of the surveyed municipalities, where it caused losses in yield.

Keywords : Delphacidae; taro.

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