Aphis pomi De Geer, 1773

Gupta, Ruchie & Pathania, P. C., 2017, Report on Hemipteran pest diversity on apple plantations (Malus domestica Borkh.) in Jammu and Kashmir State of India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 117 (4), pp. 356-356 : 356-

Aphis pomi De Geer (Plate-1, Figure. b)

TaxonomicStatus: Hemiptera :Sternorrhyncha:Aphidoidea: Aphididae

Distribution: Britain ( Kicker,1974; Dicker, 1974), Bulgaria ( Pelov, 1977), China ( Chai, 1998), Colorado ( Gillette,1998), North America, Europe, India ( Gautam & Kumari, 2004; Rishi, 1979; Butani, 1979 and Nair,1970), Lithuania ( Rakauskas & Rupais, 1983; Baker & Turner, 1916), Poland ( Wilkaniec et al.,1999; Olszak, 1991), Soviet Union ( Smol, 1970) and India ( Gupta, 2015a, b).

Present Locality: Aphis pomi de Geer has been recorded from all apple growing districts ( Doda, Ramban, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur and Kishtwar ) of Jammu Province.

Host Plants: Apple plants are the main host of green apple aphid in Himachal Pradesh, Lithuania, Soviet Union, Britain and Poland respectively. ( Gautam & Kumari, 2004; Kicker, 1974; Rakauskas & Rupias, 1983; Smol, 1970; Olszak, 1991; Wilkaniec et al.,1999) Minor infestation of these aphids has however also been observed by Butani (1979) on Citrus and by Gautam and Kumari (2004) on pear and quince.

Diagnostic Features: Yellowish green with head and thorax distinctly yellowish and sometimes dusky; possesses cornicles, eyes, tarsi, genital plates and cauda; distal end of tibiae and joints of the antennae dusky brown to deep black; 2-segmented talus with two pointed claws; feelers long, filiform comprising of six segments, mouthparts well developed, beak arising between front coxae, 2 pairs of membranous wings with hind wings smaller than fore wings, cornicles distinct, thoracic tubercles 4-6; well developed; cornicles straight and slightly tapering towards outer ends, cauda upturned tail like, antennal tubercles generally very slight; body pyriform and varies from 1.60 to 2.00 mm in length.

Damage: Considered as an important pest of Malus sp. the infestation of green aphid is most commonly found in nurseries than in orchards by sucking the sap as well as by transmitting the viral diseases. Both nymphs and adults suck the plant juice and result in the curling up of the leaves, shedding of blossoms and dropping of the young fruit untimely that leads to the impairment and degradation of the quality of fruits. Heavily affected plants do not proliferate normally. Green aphids lie close to major veins on the ventral surface of the leaf. Sap sucking deteriorates bud size and causes curling of leaves. These aphids secrete honeydew on the plants that encourages the growth of fungi on them that reduces the market value of the fruit.