DNA BARCODE OF MEALYBUGS (HEMIPTERA: PSEUDOCOCCIDAE) AND ANTS SPECIES (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) SPECIES THAT ASSOCIATED WITH PINEAPPLE IN BINTULU, SARAWAK, MALAYSIA

Muhamad Azmi Mohammed, Ameyra Aman-Zuki, Marthiuz Ghany Buang, Nur Hasanah Hamdan, Martha Sani, Patricia King Jie Hung, Salmah Yaakop

Abstract


Pineapple is one of the significant commodity crops in Malaysia, including in Sabah and Sarawak. However, this commodity is not immune to pest attacks such as mealybugs which acts as a vector for the Pineapple Mealybug Wilt-associated Virus (PMWaV) disease, which can reduce the yield and quality of pineapple production. Pineapple farmers experience difficulties in controlling and identifying the mealybug species infesting the pineapple crops due to their small size and high variation within dan between closely related species. Therefore, this study aim to identify mealybug and ant species associated with pineapple crops in Sarawak by using the DNA barcoding analysis. Active sampling of mealybug and ant samples was conducted at three locations of pineapple cultivations in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia (Samarakan, Kuala Tatau and Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus (UPMKB)). Three mealybugs species associated with pineapple crops in Bintulu were successfully identified, namely Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell), Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell) and Planococcus minor (Maskell), as well as five ants species, namely Anoplolepis gracilipes (Smith), Meranoplus bicolor (Guérin-Méneville), Iridomyrmex anceps (Roger), Tapinoma indicum (Forel) and the genus Crematogaster sp. The results of this study can help in accurate species identification and improve the list of mealybug and ant species associated with pineapple crops in Sarawak in particular and Malaysia in general. In addition, the symbiotic relationship between the mealybugs and ants as the spreading agent for mealybug colonies in pineapple cultivation areas is also discussed. The accurate species identification is expected to assist agropreneurs in developing sustainable pest control methods.


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