Spatial and temporal infestation of mango bark beetle,hypocryphalus mangiferae stebbing (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) found on mango sudden death trees in orchards

A preliminary survey of the mango orchards in multan has been reported the coexistence of bark beetle attack on the trees infested with mango sudden death disease (msdd). to extend this survey,the investigation of bark beetle in association with msdd was planned in two provinces of pakistan i.e.,punjab and sindh. in each orchard,10 trees were randomly selected and observed for the presence of disease symptoms i.e.,gummosis,cankers,rotting signs,vascular discoloration,bark splitting and wilted appearance. whereas,damage of bark beetle was assessed by using 6 inches long stem section along the circumference on basis of number of holes at attack site. the infestation was higher in lower punjab i.e.,multan,bahawalpur and rahim yar khan as compared to upper punjab i.e.,lahore and kasuar while maximum infestation was recorded in sindh districts i.e.,tandojam hyderabad,tandoallahyar and tandomuhammad. the assessment of h. mangiferae damage was also recorded on six mostly grown mango varieties i.e.,chounsa,chounsa late,ratol,sindhari,dosehari,langra. the temporal damage of h. mangiferae in relation with disease was also recorded on cv. chounsa round the year which showed that there was a strong relationship between disease severity and beetle infestation in terms of holes. since the infestation of bark beetles was mostly observed in diseased mango trees,an integrated approach would be implemented for effective management in the orchards. copyright © 2012 zoological society of pakistan.