Divisi
Mealybug wilt of pineapple
· Viral
Photo: Katja Schulz · CC BY 2.0
Mealybug wilt is a virus disease of pineapple (the pineapple mealybug wilt-associated viruses, PMWaV). The virus alone does little — the wilt appears when mealybugs feed on an infected plant. Small white, waxy mealybugs are carried from plant to plant and protected by ants, so the two pests together are what drive the disease through a field. Sick plants lose their roots, redden and wilt, and once a block is heavily infested the disease is very hard to turn back.
Obsidian Soul · CC BY 3.0
Why it matters
Mealybug wilt can take up to half your pineapple crop (50%) — the plants redden, their roots die, and the fruit stays small and worthless. It matters because you cannot spray a cure into a plant once the virus is in it, and the mealybugs and ants that spread it keep building up year after year in a pineapple field. The only way to win is to stop the mealybugs and the ants and to plant clean suckers in the first place — by the time whole rows are wilting, it is usually too late to save them.
When to act
First reddening leaves in patches together with mealybug colonies at the plant base; manage on the mealybug vector and ants, not the symptoms.
This guidance is general, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. Thresholds and timing shift with your crop, your variety and the season.
In much of the region a spray is simply called mushonga — medicine. But a chemical group you cannot name is one you cannot rotate, and a product you did not write down has no pre-harvest interval you can observe. Mushonga, and other farming words →
The full mealybug wilt of pineapple field guide
- Identify it
- Scout for it
- Control it
14 field-guide sections in the app
The full guide to mealybug wilt of pineapple — every symptom to check, how and when to walk your field looking for it, and the controls that actually work, ranked. Built into your crop plan, so you are told to look before it costs you a harvest.
Crops it affects
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify mealybug wilt of pineapple?
The damage you see first: the leaves turn a pink-to-red colour and go soft and floppy instead of standing stiff. Then the leaf tips die back and dry out, and the edges of the leaves roll inwards like a curling tongue.
When should I take action against mealybug wilt of pineapple?
First reddening leaves in patches together with mealybug colonies at the plant base; manage on the mealybug vector and ants, not the symptoms.
How do I control mealybug wilt of pineapple?
Prevent it — start clean (your strongest tool): plant only clean, virus-tested suckers taken from a healthy block, and dip or treat the planting material before you plant so mealybugs don't ride in on it. Never take suckers from a field that is wilting. Where you can, break continuous pineapple — don't plant pineapple on pineapple year after year, or the mealybugs and virus just build up.
Which crops does mealybug wilt of pineapple affect?
Among the crops covered here: Pineapple.
Catch it before it costs you a harvest
Divisi builds scouting into your crop plan — it tells you when to walk your field, what to look for at that stage, and what to do when you find it. Free for farmers, works offline.
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