Pest Status, Damage and Biology of an Invasive Pink Pineapple Mealybug, Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockrell) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) on Sweet flag (Acorus calamus Linn.): First Report in India

Acorus calamus Linn is a medicinal plant that also has pesticidal properties, primarily against storage pests of agricultural commodities. The creeping rhizomes are the economic part of the plant and are in high demand in Ayurvedic medicine preparation. So far, the pest attacks have not posed a major issue in terms of the economic yield of the plant. In 2022, the presence of an invasive pest, Dysmicoccus brevipes Cockerell, was recorded in the rhizosphere of sweet flag plants maintained at the Pepper Research Station campus, Panniyur, Kannur, Kerala, India. The polyphagous pest has expanded its host range on A. calamus. The pest attack was recorded from February 2022 onwards, which was the world's first report. Its biology was evaluated in the laboratory, and it was found that the pest is a parthenogenetic race with an average life cycle of 59±2.26 days and a fecundity range of 30-74 offspring per adult. Future research should focus on bio-intensive sustainable management packages to protect the IUCN-red list categorized sweet flag from extinction.