First report of Peliococcus chersonensis on barberry (Berberis vulgaris) from Iran

Document Type : Short paper

Authors

1 Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

2 Insect Taxonomy Research Department, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Tehran, Iran

3 Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran

Abstract

Barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) belonging to the Berberidaceae family, is widely cultivated in South Khorasan Province, Iran. This province is recognized as the primary source of barberry globally, accounting for over 95% of the world's supply. Iran is one of the largest exporters of barberry in the world. Barberry is a deciduous shrub that plays an important role in Iranian cuisine and has many health advantages. In 2024, in surveys carried out in Birjand County focusing on arthropods linked to barberry, samples of a mealybug species were collected from the leaves and branches of seedless barberry shrubs, which were identified as Peliococcus chersonensis (Kiritshenko, 1936) (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae). Mealybugs are regarded as pests due to their feeding on the sap of greenhouse plants, houseplants, and subtropical trees, and are also vectors of plant diseases. This pest is reported for the first time from Iran on seedless barberry shrubs in South Khorasan Province and Birjand County.

Keywords

References

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22067/jgrd.2024.88815.1450
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Plant Pest Research
Volume 15, Issue 2
September 2025
Pages 73-76

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History

  • Receive Date: 06 August 2025
  • Revise Date: 23 August 2025
  • Accept Date: 25 August 2025

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