Mango production in Ethiopia is harmed by a number of arthropod pests particularly the White Mango Scales (WMS) is major pest of grave concern to mango growers. The main objective of this study was to assess the current status of WMS insect pest in Mango production and farmers’ knowledge about the pest in eastern Ethiopia. WMS distribution and severity specifically in the major mango growing areas East Hararghe, Harari regional state, and Dire Dawa were surveyed. The survey result indicated that WMS is distributed across most of the mango growing districts of the surveyed zones with the exception of few areas which were found to be WMS free. A total of forty-seven mango grower fields infested with WMS and 470 mango plant leaf samples within altitudinal gradients ranging from 1166 to 2170 meters above sea level were checked for WMS infestation. Severity and abundance of WMS w?s highest ?t Dire Dawa followed by Babile, then Haramaya and Harari sub districts. The comparative means of both male and females’ number of WMS showed that the severity was significantly different across the districts (p values <.0001) for number of males, number of females and for both males and females of WMS.

Keywords: Mango, White mango scale, Distribution, severity, Farmers