Definition

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black scale

cochinilla

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cochenille

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蚜虫 /yáchóng/

1

Agriculture | n. phr.
An insect with a prominent H-shaped ridge on the back, considered as an olive-tree plague which weakens trees by getting fixed onto them and by sucking their sap, and which excretes numerous sweet substances that impregnate the olive-tree and from which the black fungi covering plant tissues nourishes, thus hindering photosynthesis and transpiration.

Example

Black scale usually has one generation per year in interior valley olive growing districts. In cooler, coastal regions multiple generations occur. Black scale prefers dense unpruned portions of trees. Open, airy trees rarely support populations of black scale.

See Sources

Alternative forms

cochinilla de la tizne, caparreta, Saissetia oleae [Botánica]

Additional information

the olives attacked by the black scale produce faulty olive oils. Various types of black scales exist: Saissetia oleae, Parlatoria oleae Colvée, Lepidosaphes gloverii, Aspidiotus nerii and Euphyllura olivina. As a preventive measure, the black scale should be attacked by use of pesticides profusely applied on the tree while larvae are still under the female"s shell.

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