DINAMIKA POPULASI KUTU PUTIH (Ferrisia virgata Cockerell) PADA TANAMAN SINGKONG DI KECAMATAN PURWODADI, KABUPATEN PURWOREJO

Ferrsiaa virgata is a pest that is polyphagous or a pest that has many host plants. One of
the host plants of F.virgata is cassava. F.virgata attacks cassava plants by piercing and adsorb
compounds present in plants, with the result can bring about damage to plants. The purpose of
this study was to determine the population dynamics of F. virgata in various locations with
different plant ages. This research was conducted for 20 weeks of observation with three
different locations, specificelly Jogoresan, Geparang and Namurejo. The results of this study
indicate that the population of F.virgata in various locations and shows relatively the same
results. However, at various plant ages, the population growth of the mealybug F. virgata
continued to increase along with the age of the plant. The presence of the mealybug F.virgata
began to be seen at week 8 to 11 of observation, the highest population density occurred at
week 20 for Jogorod and Geparang land, while for Namurejo land it occurred at week 18.
Natural enemies found at the observation site include black ants (Dolichoderus thoracicus)
spiders, and lacewings (C. Lucasina).