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Fig 3
February / March 2024

Potential For Margarodes Control

SA Fruit Journal: February / March 2024

Margarodes prieskaensis is one of five indigenous Margarodes species found in vineyards in SA.

By Elleunorah Allsopp (ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij).

Margarodes are soil-dwelling scale insects that occur along the Lower Orange River in the Northern Cape and in certain areas in the Northwest, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga provinces.

Thus far, the camel thorn tree (Vachellia erioloba) is the only indigenous host plant identified along the Lower Orange River, but the search for indigenous hosts in the other regions continues. The larvae or nymphs, protected by waxy cysts feed on grapevine roots (Fig. 1) until fully developed, thus weakening the root system, and shortening the productive lifespan of vines. Flightless females and winged males emerge from the cysts during winter and move to the soil surface to mate (Fig. 2). Since adult margarodes do not have functional mouthparts, they cannot feed and die shortly after mating and laying eggs.
The bright yellow M. prieskaensis females are highly visible when they appear at the soil surface to mate and present an easy target for control (Fig. 3). Currently, there are no chemicals registered for margarodes control. The South African Table Grape Industry (SATI) and Raisins SA co-funded research to determine the efficacy of local entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) and entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) against margarodes females in laboratory and field trials. In parallel, registration trials with selected contact and systemic insecticides for margarodes control were funded by Villa Crop Protection. The overall aim is to develop an integrated management strategy for margarodes.

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