The outbreak of a notorious insect pest Anoplocnemis curvipes was observed on citrus orchard in Rivers State University Teaching and Research farm. This piercing and sucking insect ravage fruits, young/succulent stems, delay normal seed formation and cause premature droppings and drying of fruits was observed for the first time in Rivers State University Citrus Orchard. Lambda-cyhalothrin insecticide was applied on the infested trees using a mist blower at a standard dosage to manage the insect pest. A total of 15,795 nymph/adult A. curvipes was counted at the base of five severely infested citrus trees after insecticide application. Due to the severity of the pest attack 100% yield loss was recorded. Therefore, this survey is reporting its damage as a pest alert and also to create awareness of the presence of this notorious polyphagous pest A. curvipes as a potential insect pest in our agro-ecological environment.
Keywords: Anoplocnemis curvipes, Damage, Lambda-cyhalothrin insecticide, citrus orchard
