A Half-yearly Peer Reviewed Journal of Bangladesh Forest Research Institute
In Bangladesh invasion of ipil-ipil psyllid Heteropsylla cubana Crawford (Psyllidae : Homoptera) was first detected at Bagachattar near Chittagong in 1989. Later a survey on the pest showed that besides other parts of Chittagong it had spread to some parts of greater Dinajpur and Faridpur districts. Both the nymphs and the adults of the psyllid suck sap from young foliage and tender shoot causing drying up of the terminal portion of the branches. The infestation was prevalent during the dry period from October to April. The psyllid also infested rain tree (Sarnanea sanian) and raj koroi (Albizia richardiana) in Bangladesh. In the nursery the pest was controlled by spraying 0.1% malathion three times at an interval of 15 days. One species of coccinellid, one species of dragonfly and two species of spider were recorded as predators of the psyllid in Bangladesh. As chemical control has some drawbacks, stress should be given on breeding psyllid resistant species/clones and utilization of predators, parasites and pathogens to control the pest. As it is a major pest of ipil-ipil in many countries specially in the South and South-East Asian regions, close cooperation and collaboration in both regional and international levels will be of great advantage to combat the problem.