Hayleys Agro sets up Help Desk to fight Piti Makuna

In response to the emerging menace of the ‘Mealy Bug’ (Piti Makuna), a virulent pest which is attacking many species of fruit and foliage plants, Hayleys Agro Products Limited (HAPL) has set up a special ‘Help Desk’ to provide advice and assistance on combating this outbreak.

Company experts manning the Help Desk can be reached on 2688960-3 (office hours) and 077 2942736 or 077 2885079 (outside office hours) for free advice and guidance on steps to be taken to arrest the spread of Mealy Bug which has already destroyed plants in many home gardens in the Western Province and spread to several agricultural areas in other parts of the country, the company said.

In addition to the support offered through this Help Desk, HAPL has also deployed teams of extension staff to conduct educational campaigns through mobile units and has mobilised control measures such as spraying programs in 12 areas in the Colombo and Gampaha districts. The company is also working closely with the Department of Agriculture to fight the rampant mealy bug threat, its General Manager, Crop Protection Division S. M. Gamage said.

“As a specialist in agri-pest control and the biggest supplier of agri inputs in Sri Lanka, Hayleys Agro has the knowledge and the products to combat the Mealy Bug outbreak,” he said. “We are happy to share our knowledge with the victims of the Mealy Bug as part of our commitment to agriculture and the community.”

He said the company had identified the need for a help desk as it is not feasible for its extension teams to visit every affected area. However, wherever feasible, Hayleys Agro is also providing a chemical spraying service, Gamage said.

About 60 crops that can be affected by mealy bug have been identified. These include milky sap plants such as temple trees, jackfruit, breadfruit, papaw, rambuttan, crotons and other foliage plants and plants belonging to the citrus variety such as lemon in home gardens.

The problem is rampant in the Western Province at present, but has also been detected in Chilaw, Ratnapura, Kegalle and Anuradhapura. The most visible sign of infestation is a white powdery substance mainly on the underside of leaves.

The life cycle of a mealy bug ranges from 21-30 days, but due to high temperature the life cycle can get shortened to 7-15 days. Mealy Bugs can reproduce by laying eggs or by bearing live young. The female mealy bug lays around 500-600 eggs at a time and these eggs hatch in ten days.

The nymphs, which are pale yellow, begin feeding immediately. The young nymphs remain in a ‘crawler’ stage for short time. Gradually a white fluffy, waxy coating begins to form over their bodies.