Durian psyllids (including bao bao)
Tiny sap sucking bugs swarm on new flushes, leaves curl, yellow and dry, white waxy threads appear, and flowers and fruitlets drop.
Also called
bao bao
Crops it attacks
Where the damage shows
When to act
Each week while trees flush and set fruit, look at 10 new shoots on 10 trees for tiny nymphs, white waxy threads and curling leaves. Act when nymphs crowd many young flushes. Rainy spells and new flush bring them up fast.
What to spray
Active ingredients only, never brands. The IRAC group tells how it works: switch to a different group next time, so the pest does not learn to survive it. Spray only when the damage is worth the cost, and only with products registered with the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority for your crop. Follow the label. The Shopee and Lazada links only show who sells something with that active ingredient, not a recommendation of any seller or product.
On labels for it, but not advised
- Dimethoate: Old, toxic organophosphate with no label for this pest. The other choices are safer.
How to prevent it
- Time pruning and fertilizer so each tree flushes all at once, and guard that young flush, where the psyllids breed.
- Cut off and burn heavily infested flush tips early, before the nymphs mature.
- Do not overfeed with nitrogen. Soft, repeated flushes feed more psyllids.
- Water trees in the dry season and keep them healthy, so they hold flowers and fruitlets under attack.
- Spray, if you must, only the young flush, not the whole tree, so the natural enemies survive.
Natural enemies and biological help
- Lacewings, lady beetles, spiders and small parasitic wasps eat psyllid nymphs on the flush. Avoid broad sprays.
- Beauveria bassiana infects psyllids in humid weather.
Not sure it is this one?
Many pests look alike. Send a photo to Anee, the smart farm technician in anee.io. She reads it with your crop, its age and the weather, and tells you what it most likely is and what to do first. In Tagalog or English.