LEUCAENA PSYLLIDS CAUSING DIEBACK IN PLANTATIONS OF LEUCAENA SPP. 1 |
Psyllid insects (Heteropsylla spp., or “jumping plant lice”) have spread rapidly around the world in the past few years. |
The original distribution appears to have been around Cuba in the Caribbean. The psyllids are known throughout the Caribbean and along the east coast of Mexico, where they seem to be under heavy predation and rarely cause severe damage on Leucaena. |
Since 1983 the psyllids have been observed in several places outside their traditional distribution area: Florida (late 1983), Hawaii (April 1984), Western Samoa (February 1985), Fiji, Tonga and other South Pacific islands (during 1985), the Philippines (late 1985) and Thailand (1986). |
In some locations the psyllids have caused extensive defoliation and dieback. In the absence of its natural predators the psyllid may cause serious economic damage. |
The above information has been extracted from “NFT Highlights”, a periodic publication of the Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association abstracting information on the utilization, research and development of nitrogen fixing trees. This publication and more information on the Leucaena psyllids, on Leucaena species showing resistance, on tolerance of some Leucaena leucocephala provenances (or cultivars), on availability of seeds from these, and on some insect predators are available from: |
Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association (NFTA) |
NFTA is also coordinating provenance trials to identify other sources of resistance to the Leucaena psyllids. |
