The Papaya Mealybug is a pest that was first detected in Uganda in 2012; a small polyphagous sap sucking insect that attacks leaves and stems to suck on the sap. In the end, it will kill plants like the pawpaw. Now, many pawpaw farmers in the Mukono and Kayunga Districts are facing the wrath of this pest.
Apart from Mukono and Kayunga, Lira and Luwero are the other districts under attack. “In Lira, we started experiencing it in 2019 and it caused very big losses. We have so far been taught how to identify it but how to treat it is still a myth,” says James Ogwang who was part of the survey team to examine the pest in Lira.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal industry and fisheries along with Naro and the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), have set out on a mission to tackle the mealybug. A participatory rapid rural appraisal was conducted in Kayunga, Mukono, Lira and Luweero Districts to gain understanding of the presence, distribution and impact of the papaya mealy bug in the country as well as farmers’ management practices.
Source: monitor.co.ug
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