Hot Water Immersion for Surface Disinfestation of Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae)

Mealybug Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) adults, nymphs, crawlers, and eggs were tested for their susceptibility to hot water immersion at 47, 48, and 49 degree C. Eggs inside ovisacs were found most tolerant with prolonged survival compared with other stages at all temperatures. Ovisacs required an average of 1.38, 1.46, and 1.62 times longer treatment duration than adults, nymphs, and crawlers, respectively, for 99.9% predicted mortality at 47, 48, and 49 degree C. Lethal time estimations were calculated from inverse predictions of regressions derived from logit-transformed data as well as those created using a kinetic model. LT 99.9 estimations were 47.0, 21.2, and 11.9 min at 47, 48, and 49 degree C, respectively, by using regressions with logit transformations. The kinetic model predictions were 43.9, 19.6, and 11.1 min at 47, 48, and 49 degree C, respectively. During the study no emergence from eggs inside ovisacs was found after treatments of 52, 24, and 14 min at 47, 48, and 49 degree C, respectively. Results from this study provide efficacious temperature-time treatments.