Gonocephalum (false wireworm)
Identity
- Preferred Scientific Name
- Gonocephalum
- Preferred Common Name
- false wireworm
- Other Scientific Names
- Hopatrum Blackburn, 1907
- International Common Names
- Englishdarkling beetlessurface beetles
- Local Common Names
- GermanyStaubkafer
- EPPO code
- GONASP (Gonocephalum sp.)
Pictures
Distribution
Host Plants and Other Plants Affected
Host | Host status | References |
---|---|---|
Arachis hypogaea (groundnut) | Main | |
Capsicum (peppers) | Main | |
Cicer arietinum (chickpea) | Main | |
Coffea (coffee) | Main | |
Glycine max (soyabean) | Main | |
Gossypium (cotton) | Main | |
Helianthus annuus (sunflower) | Main | |
Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) | Main | |
Poaceae (grasses) | Main | |
Saccharum | Unknown | Assefa and Conlong (2009) |
Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) | Main | |
Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) | Main | |
Vigna radiata (mung bean) | Main | |
Zea mays (maize) | Main |
Symptoms
Larvae of Gonocephalum are attracted to germinating seeds. The larvae damage the seeds and the developing roots and shoots. Larvae scrape away at least part of the seed coat and feed on the kernel and cotyledons.
Adult Gonocephalum destroy emerging seedlings by feeding on the cotyledon leaves, or on the growing tip, or by 'ring barking' the stem at ground level. Even seedlings which develop a woody stem, including cotton (Robertson, 1993) and coffee transplants (Mlambo, 1983), can be killed.
Adult Gonocephalum are active on the soil surface, and tend to damage dicotyledonous crops more severely than monocots. Sorghum seedlings can withstand some feeding on emerging leaves, whereas the growing points of dicots are easily destroyed by Gonocephalum adult feeding (Robertson, 1993). Germinating cereal seeds, however, are readily destroyed by larvae of Gonocephalum.
Adult Gonocephalum destroy emerging seedlings by feeding on the cotyledon leaves, or on the growing tip, or by 'ring barking' the stem at ground level. Even seedlings which develop a woody stem, including cotton (Robertson, 1993) and coffee transplants (Mlambo, 1983), can be killed.
Adult Gonocephalum are active on the soil surface, and tend to damage dicotyledonous crops more severely than monocots. Sorghum seedlings can withstand some feeding on emerging leaves, whereas the growing points of dicots are easily destroyed by Gonocephalum adult feeding (Robertson, 1993). Germinating cereal seeds, however, are readily destroyed by larvae of Gonocephalum.
List of Symptoms/Signs
Symptom or sign | Life stages | Sign or diagnosis |
---|---|---|
Plants/Fruit/internal feeding | ||
Plants/Growing point/external feeding | ||
Plants/Leaves/external feeding | ||
Plants/Seeds/internal feeding | ||
Plants/Stems/external feeding | ||
Plants/Whole plant/wilt |
Prevention and Control
Chemical Control
Due to the variable regulations around (de-)registration of pesticides, we are for the moment not including any specific chemical control recommendations. For further information, we recommend you visit the following resources:
•
EU pesticides database (http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database/)
•
PAN pesticide database (www.pesticideinfo.org)
•
Your national pesticide guide
Impact
G. macleayi is a regularly-occurring pest of cereals sown in spring and summer, oilseed sunflower, and legumes in eastern Australia. Cotton, maize, and other crops are occasionally attacked. Seedling losses can be high enough to necessitate replanting over hundreds of hectares in some years. G. macleayi often co-exists with other soil-dwelling pests, and losses can seldom be attributed to one species.G. simplex is widespread in Africa south of the Sahara, and a wide variety of crops are affected. Economic losses have not been quantified, and this pest also occurs with other soil-dwelling pests (Mlambo, 1983). Severe thinning of stands of sunflower and maize seedlings are recorded in some years in South Africa (Drinkwater, 1992). In one report from India, Gonocephalum sp. damaged 5% of pods of groundnut in Andhra Pradesh (Reddy et al., 1992). Gonocephalum spp. appear to cause sporadic damage over most of their distribution.
Information & Authors
Information
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Copyright
Copyright © CABI. CABI is a registered EU trademark. This article is published under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
History
Published online: 17 November 2021
Language
English
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