author(s)
Nadia Noureen, Mubashar Hussain, Samman Fatima and Mobeen Ghazanfar

abstract
Cotton Mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis (Pseudococcidae; Hemiptera) is an exotic pest of several crops including maize, okra, brinjals, potato, sorghum, marigold, ground nuts, pigeon peas, holly hock, sunflower, cucurbits, beat root, mulberry, Amaranthus spp. and especially cotton. During the 1st decade of 21^st century, mealybug has become a serious pest of crops and ornamentals. It has been reported from 35 different areas of the world threatening crop population. Several control and management strategies have been employed in various parts of the world to keep the pest under threshold levels. The chemical control of the cotton mealybug through Sulfoxaflor, Buprofezin, Chlorpyrifos, Profenofos, Imidacloprid, Dimethaote, Thiathoxam, Ethanol, Isopropyl alcohol, Petroleum sprays and plant based insecticides has been extensively investigated. The most efficient and suitable amongst these chemicals are Profenofos, Chlorpyrifos, Imidacloprid and Buprofezin while Imidacloprid was least toxic to friendly insects and botanical based insecticides did not harm at all. On one hand chemical control of cotton Mealybug is efficient, quick and economic whereas on the other hand it poses several environmental threats to the farmer. The climatic changes have great impact on the population dynamics of cotton Mealybug and its distribution over a wide host range. The continuous monitoring of the population abundance and dynamics of cotton Mealybug is required to avoid severe crop losses. The surveillance of the pest over large areas needs to be practiced for the development of effective management strategies.