Molecular and biological characteristics of the aphid Pentalonia nigronervosa (Hemiptera: Aphididae) damage on banana plants in Viet Nam

Abstract

Banana plants (Musa sp.) are tropical fruit crops widely cultivated in many countries, including Vietnam. The

banana aphid Pentalonia nigronervosa is one of the most important insect pests of banana due to both direct

feeding damage and its role as a vector of Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV). This study investigated the

molecular identification and biological characteristics of P. nigronervosa on banana plants in Hanoi. DNA

barcoding based on the mitochondrial COI gene confirmed that species of aphids collected from banana plants in

Hanoi was P. nigronervosa (Aphididae, Hemiptera). At 25°C, the aphid life cycle was shortest when reared on

Cavendish banana and Royal banana (13.03 and 13.39 days), followed by Tay banana (14.38 days), and

galangal (15.89 days), respectively. Female fecundity was highest on Cavendish banana (22.44 aphids/female),

followed by Royal banana (19.58 aphids/female), Tay banana (15.50 aphids/female) and galangal (11.32

aphid/female). The survival rate of P. nigronervosa was highest (84.7%) when being reared on Cavendish

banana, whereas complete mortality (100%) was observed on ginger plants. These results show that banana

plants are more suitable plant hosts for P. nigronervosa than that of ginger or galangal plants