Identification of Planococcus ficus and Planococcus citri (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) by PCR-RFLP of COI gene

The vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret), and the citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri (Risso), are currently the most economically important pseudococcids in vineyards in Italy.The two species cause severe damage to the host plant, and significantly reduce the crop due to the production of honeydew; moreover the first species is known to transmit grapevine diseases.In this study, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of regions of mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) was used to distinguish populations of these two mealybugs..Results show that the PCR-RFLP used in the present study delivers a good performance, in fact it is more reproducible than RAPD-PCR and it is easier to develop than Multiplex-PCR. The technique provides researchers and technicians with a powerful tool for the rapid, accurate and unequivocal identification of these mealybugs in different agricultural fields, especially for the correct choice of parasitoids in integrated pest management.