The Susceptibility of Eucalyptus Species Seedlings to Red Gum Lerp Psyllid (Glycapsis Brimblecombei) In Lilongwe Malawi

Red Gum Lerp Psyllid (RGLP), Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore (Hemiptera: Pysllidae) is an insect pest that attacks various Eucalyptus species by causing leaf discolouration, severe leaf drops and twig dieback. Extensive attacks weaken the tree and make it prone to other secondary pests. There is a continued practice of planting different Eucalyptus species without considering whether they are susceptible or not to RGLP attacks. This might hinder the success of afforestation and reforestation programmes. In this study, seven months old, E. camadulensis, E. maidenni, E. tereticornis and E. grandis species tree seedlings at Bunda Forest Reserve tree nursery in Lilongwe, Malawi were tested to determine their susceptibility to RGLP attacks, which part of the leaf is mostly attacked by RGLP and to determine the survival rate of the susceptible Eucalyptus species. The seedlings were exposed to a highly infested Eucalyptus species trees for one month and twenty days. Data was being collected at a ten-day interval. The results indicate that there were significant differences (P<0.05) on Damage Indices (DI) among the Eucalyptus species. E. camadulensis and E. tereticornis were severely susceptible to RGLP with DI of 2.9 and 2.7, respectively. On the other hand, E. grandis and E. maidenni were medium and resistant to RGLP with DI of 1.2 and 0, respectively. There were more RGLP lerps on abaxial part of the leaf surface than on its adaxial part of leaf surface. E. maidenni had the highest survival rate (100%) followed by E. tereticornis (90.5%). Both E. camadulensis and E. grandis had the lowest survival rate (85.7%). Raising of E. maidenni tree seedlings which is resistant to RGLP attacks may promote the successful afforestation and reforestation programmes in Lilongwe, Malawi and areas with similar environmental conditions with Lilongwe.