Strange pawpaw disease breaks out in Lilongwe

A strange disease, papaya mealy bug, has broken out in Lilongwe and it is attacking pawpaw, agriculture authorities confirmed with Malawi News Agency (Mana).

The disease is characterized by a white wooly coating that in some instances cover the whole fruit making it less attractive for consumption, to say the least.

Lilongwe Agricultural Development Division (ADD) Crop Protection Officer, Nixon Nyalugwe, confirmed to have had cases of papaya mealy bug reported in the district and that the health problem had been diagnosed.

“Recently some farmers brought the pawpaw health problem for diagnosis and recommendations. We contacted pathologists and entomologists for diagnosis,” explained Nyalugwe.

He continued, “It has been established that the problem is Papaya mealy bug and it is reported that currently neighboring countries of Tanzania and Zambia have the same outbreak.”

He said in Lilongwe, the problem had been reported as severe in Areas 47 and 49 where almost 90% of pawpaw trees were under attack and that it was likely to spill to other areas.

According to the DADO, the problem has led to secondary infection of what he called phytopthora fruit rot.

“Papaya mealy bug originated from Central America and has been reported as pest of economic importance in 2009,” he explained.

“It appears as cotton like masses on the plant and it sucks sap and weakens the plant. In severe cases it leads to secondary infections.”

He advised that the Papaya mealy bug can be managed by pruning and burning affected branches and by avoiding movement of plants from affected areas.
Removal of weeds and alternate hosts and application of botanical pesticides or soap water or Dimethoate 30EC (2ml/litre of water) can also help manage the disease, according to the crop protection officer.

“You can also apply chemicals with active ingredient of lufenuron and emamectin benzoate, however, efficiency of chemical application can be compromised because of waxy substances produced by the bud, hence other control methods are vital,” he concluded.

Meanwhile Nyalugwe said they would quickly meet at ministry level to discuss way forward on public sensitization before the problem went out of hand.