EFSA Journal (Feb 2023)

Pest categorisation of Milviscutulus mangiferae

  • EFSA Panel on Plant Health (PLH),
  • Claude Bragard,
  • Paula Baptista,
  • Elisavet Chatzivassiliou,
  • Francesco Di Serio,
  • Paolo Gonthier,
  • Josep Anton Jaques Miret,
  • Annemarie Fejer Justesen,
  • Christer Sven Magnusson,
  • Panagiotis Milonas,
  • Juan A Navas‐Cortes,
  • Stephen Parnell,
  • Roel Potting,
  • Philippe Lucien Reignault,
  • Emilio Stefani,
  • Hans‐Hermann Thulke,
  • Wopke Van der Werf,
  • Antonio Vicent Civera,
  • Jonathan Yuen,
  • Lucia Zappalà,
  • Jean‐Claude Grégoire,
  • Chris Malumphy,
  • Spyridon Antonatos,
  • Virag Kertesz,
  • Andrea Maiorano,
  • Dimitrios Papachristos,
  • Alan MacLeod

DOI
https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.7846
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 21, no. 2
pp. n/a – n/a

Abstract

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Abstract The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Milviscutulus mangiferae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccidae), the mango shield scale, for the EU. The native range of M. mangiferae is uncertain. This species occurs widely in tropical and warmer subtropical regions throughout the world. Within the EU, the pest has been recorded in Italy in a greenhouse at the Botanical Garden of Padua on mango trees imported from Florida (USA); however, its establishment remains uncertain. It is not listed in Annex II of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072. It is polyphagous, feeding on plant species belonging to more than 86 genera in more than 43 families including many crop and ornamental plants. It can be a serious pest of mango (Mangifera indica) and an occasional pest of a range of ornamental plants. Economically important crops in the EU such as citrus (Citrus spp.), avocado (Persea americana) and ornamentals such as hibiscus (Hibiscus spp.) and myrtle (Myrtus communis), are included in the host list of M. mangiferae. Reproduction of M. mangiferae is generally parthenogenetic and it completes two to three generations annually. Plants for planting, cut flowers and fruits provide potential pathways for entry into the EU. Climatic conditions in southern EU countries and host plant availability in those areas are conducive for establishment and spread. Establishment could also occur in heated greenhouses in cooler areas of the EU. The introduction of the mango shield scale is expected to have an economic impact in the EU through the reduction in yield, quality and commercial value of fruits and ornamental plants. Phytosanitary measures are available to reduce the likelihood of entry and further spread. M. mangiferae meets the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.

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