The main types of pests infesting cotton plants in Iraq
أنواع الآفات الرئيسية التي تصيب نباتات القطن في العراق
ا.د. مرتضى جليل المعموري
رئيس قسم الجغرافية التطبيقية / كلية التربية للعلوم الانسانية / جامعة كربلاء
Pests can be identified as organisms that infect plants, causing losses, directly or indirectly, in all stages of growth, even after storage of the harvest, thereby damaging agricultural production in terms of quantity and quality. Different types of pests begin their life cycle by laying their eggs on the plants and those found in Iraq are described below.
1-Thirps tabaci: It is yellow in colour, also having yellow wings and the female lays 10 to 30 white eggs on the leaves, resulting in 6-8 generations each year. The insect larvae and adult absorb the juices of the plant, thereby damaging its chlorophyll. This leads to the leaves curling upwards and silver infection spots appearing on their under surfaces, resulting in poor and late plant growth
Photograph of Thirps tabaci.
2- Empoasca Iybica: An insect that is light green in colour with wings that are also green transparent. The female lays 50 to 60 eggs in the plant tissues, which leads to several generations per year. The adult insect absorbs juice from the leaves, which causes flowers and fruit to drop and in cases of severe infestation kills the plant.
Photograph of Empoasca Iybica
3- Aphis-gosspii: Has a dark green colour and its eggs hatch inside the female, appearing as a multiple births of 9 to 12-day nymphs, resulting in several generations per year. It sucks the sap of plants causing the leaves to wrinkle and eventually to turn over, thus leading to the plant dying.
Photograph of Aphis- gosspii
4- Bemisia tabaci: Orange and yellow in colour but is often covered in a waxy material, which gives it a white appearance. The female lays eggs on the undersurface of the leaves and the adults suck plant sap such that yellow spots appear and eventually black mushroom-like growth is seen, which kills the plant.
Photograph of Bemisia tabaci.
