Mangosteen: insect pest and disease management

Patricia Chay, David Astridge & Lynton Vawdrey, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries.

Insect pests and diseases

The mangosteen is affected by a range pest, disease problems and disorders. The more common disorders, diseases and insect pests of mangosteen are given in Tables 1 and 2.

Diseases and disorders

"Gamboge" is a disorder which can affect the fruit. A yellow resin or latex produced by the branches and fruit can penetrate and seep into the flesh giving a bitter taste. Translucent flesh is another disorder which affects the fruit, making the fruit inedible. Wind or pest damage can induce these disorders.

It appears that the bitter yellow exudate which is excreted when leaves or fruit are damaged have some disinfection properties.

Pestalozzia blight and stem canker, caused by the fungus, Pestalotiopsis sp., is the main disease found to affect mangosteen in the Wet Tropics of Queensland. The disease is thought to be predisposed by sunburn and often found after stormy conditions when limbs get damaged. Pink disease which is common on citrus is also found in mangosteen.

Table 1. Main disorders and diseases of mangosteen

Disorder/disease	Symptom	Control procedure
Gamboge/gummosis	yellow exudate on fruits and branches	avoid injury avoid fruit dropping on ground during harvest
Translucent flesh	flesh becomes watery translucent - inedible
Pestalozzia blight and stem canker (Pestalotiopsis sp. associated)	branch splitting gummosis and blistering (especially during stormy and windy conditions)	spray with copper oxychloride sun protection essential plant windbreak early
Pink disease (Corticium salmonicolor)	infected area (stem/branch) covered with pink mycelium wilting of leaves and shoots	proper and appropriate pruning spray with copper oxychloride

Mangosteen insect pests

Table 2. Insect pests of mangosteen

Insect	Symptom	Monitoring
Red-banded thrip (Selenothrips rubrocinctus)	infests flowers and damages the fruit skin, leaving a brown rusty appearance on the fruit	monitor newly emerged flower panicles for thrips on 10-20 trees/ha with a x 10 handlens. If 50% of trees have thrips spray with registered chemical. Critical monitoring period is prior to flowering
Fruit-spotting bug (Amblypelta lutescens lutescens and Amblypelta nitida )	insects cause damage by feeding on newly developing fruit and foliage. Feeding damage can be seen as black / brown sunken spots on the fruit and leaves	spot spray affected trees with registered chemical if damage is observed
Larvae of leaf webber (Pyralidae)	chewing damage to foliage, flowers and fruit	not normally needed spray with Bacillus thuringiensis if fruit damage is observed
Redshouldered leaf beetle (Monolepta australis)	chewing damage to foliage, flowers and fruit	spot spray trees with registered chemical if beetle numbers are higher then 10 adults
Flat mite (Brevipalpus sp.)	leaf damage mottling of foliage defoliation in severe cases	not needed in north Qld
Citrus mealy bug (Planococcus citri )	sap sucking honey dew producing insect which can cause sooty mould on the fruit and leaves. Usually farmed by ants.	control ants and release the mealybug predator Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
Green tree ant (Oecophylla smaragdina )	farms citrus mealybug and are very territorial and aggressive if disturbed making harvesting of fruit difficult. These insects will web the fruit together to protect mealybug colonies	inject ant nests with appropriate registered chemical
Larvae of the Tortricidae moth.	chewing damage to foliage flowers and fruit	not normally needed spray with Bacillus thuringiensis if fruit damage is observed

Red banded thrip (Selenothrips rubrocinctus) is a major pest in north Queensland. Populations build up under hot dry conditions. This insect infests flowers and damages the developing fruit skin.

The fruit-spotting bug is another major pest of mangosteen and causes extensive damage to the fruit if left uncontrolled. This pest is particularly common if natural vegetation is close to the orchard.

Problems caused by citrus mealybug and green tree ants will vary between orchards. If green tree ant populations are well managed, the mealybug ladybird predators (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and Halmus ovalis) and the wasp parasitoid Laptomastix sp are very effective biological control agents.

Other minor and sporadic pests include the larval stages of a leaf webber (Pyralidae) and the red shoulder leaf beetle (Monolepta australis). In severe cases, these can cause extensive leaf damage and defoliation.

The flat mite (Brevipalpus sp.) and the larvae of the Tortricidae moth may also be found but are not significant.

Flying foxes can cause significant damage to ripe fruit in north Queensland.

Further Information

DPI&F Business Information Centre on 13 25 23 - local call 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday (non-Queensland residents phone 07 3404 6999). E-mail: callweb@dpi.qld.gov.au

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Centre for Wet Tropics Agriculture, South Johnstone - phone 07 4064 3100

Rare Fruits Council of Australia. Fact Sheet No.3 Mangosteen (purple), (1983).

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Information contained in this publication is provided as general advice only. For application to specific circumstances, professional advice should be sought. The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland has taken all reasonable steps to ensure the information in this publication is accurate at the time of publication. Readers should ensure that they make appropriate inquiries to determine whether new information is available on the particular subject matter.

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Last updated 09 November 2005