Integrated Pest Management

Defoliators

Bihar hairy caterpillar (Spilosoma oblique, Amsacta moorei)

Identification & Monitoring

• Body of the caterpillar is covered with hairs of varied colour, like red, orange or brownish orange or black.
• A. moorei is generally active at the onset of monsoon (July).
•  S.obliqua very serious in the month of September and early October in northern India.
• If the incidence is more than 1-2 larvae per plant, follow the pest control measures.
• Monitor using the light trap.

Damage

• In the early stages, larvae are gregarious feeders and are concentrate and confine to few plants.
• Mature caterpillars migrate to other plants and feed voraciously on all parts of the plants leaving only the stem.

Cultural Control

• Use resistant tolerant varieties like Tilothama and Rama.

Mechanical Control

• Destroy the young larvae during gregarious phase.
• Whenever possible, mechanical collection and destruction of egg masses as well as first and last instars caterpillars and pupae is useful.
• Use of light trap.
• Install bird perches.

Biological Control

• In nature, pests are kept under control to a great extent by their natural enemies.
• Use Trichogamma evanesuns minutam Riley as egg parasite.
• Use Apanteles oblique welkinson as egg parasite.
• Use Bacillus thuringiensis var. Kurstaki as larvae parasite

Chemical Control

• Spray endosulfan 0.07 % @750 litres of water or dusting with phosalone 4% @25 kg/ha.

Leaf webber, roller and capsule borer (Antigastra catalaunalis)

Identification & Monitoring

• The adult is medium sized moth with reddish yellow forewings.
• The larvae is greenish in colour with black head and about 15 mm in length.
• The active period is July to October.
• If the incidence is more than 1-2 larvae per plant, follow the pest control measures.
• Monitor using the light trap

Damage

• The young larvae roll together a few top leaves and feed them.
• Later, some more leaves are affected.
• In the early stage of infestation, the plant dies without producing any branch or shoot.
• In later stage of attack, infested shoots stop growing.
• At flowering, larvae feed inside the flowers and on capsule formation, larvae bore into capsule and feed on developing seeds.

Cultural Control

• Early sown (first week of July) Kharif crop is less infested than late sown crop.
• Use resistant tolerant varieties.
• Intercrop with mungbean, pearl millet, urdbean, moth bean and groundnut.

Mechanical Control

• Removal of larvae from the leaf webs during the initial stages of plant growth.

Biological Control

• Release Bracon hebator, B. Brevicornis and Phanerotoma handecasisella for shoot webber.
• Release predators like Cantheconidia furcellata, Cicindella spp are are reported on larvae.
• Release parasitoids like Trathala flavoorbitallis, Campoplex sp., Erioborus sp., Temelucha biguttula, Apanteles spp. and Cremastus flavoorbitalis.

Chemical Control

• Two sprayings of endosulfan 0.07% or quinalphos 0,05% at 30 and 45 days after sowing.
• Two rounds of dusting with phosalone 4% or malathion 5% dust @ 25 kg/ha at 30 and 45 days after sowing.
  OR
• 350-375 ml/ha deltamethrin 2.8 EC or 450-500 ml/ha of cypermethrin 10 EC in about 250-300 litre water/ha.

Hawk moth (Sphinx caterpillar) (Acherontia styx)

Identification & Monitoring

• Adult is a giant dark yellowish moth, forewings are dark brown and hind wings are yellowish with 2 black lines.
• Full brown larvae are stout, sturdy, greenish and 5 cm in length, with a prominent dorsal horn on the 8th abdominal segment.

Damage

• Caterpillars feed on the leaves and defoliate the plant.
• It remains active through out the crop
  season.

Cultural Control

• Deep ploughing exposes the pupae for predation to insectivorous birds.

Mechanical Control

• Hand picking collection and destruction of caterpillars.

Biological Control

• Use egg parasite Anastatus acherontiae.
• Use larval parasite like Sarcophaga sp., Zygobothria ciliate walp, Apanteles acherontiae.

Chemical Control

• Two rounds of dusting with phosalone 4% or malathion 5% or endosulfan 4% dust @ 25 kg/ha, first at 30 DAS and second at 45 DAS.

Linseed gall fly (Dasyneura sesami)

Identification & Monitoring

• Eggs are laid in batches of 3 to 7 in newly formed flower buds.
• Pupation take place inside the silken cocoon.
• The active period is from September-October.

Damage

• The fully grown larvae make a hole in the bud and damage the flower.

Cultural Control

• The infested buds should be removed and destroyed to reduce further incidence of the pest.

Biological Control

• Use larval parasite Pteromalus fasciatus Thomas

Chemical Control

• Spray crop at bud initiation stage with dimethoate 0.03% or Endosulfan 0.07%.

Gall fly (Asphondylia sesami)

Identification & Monitoring

• Adult is mosquito like fly.
• Maggots are whitish, legless and with body tapering exteriorly.
• Maggot pupate inside the galls.
• Monitor at the time of bud initiation, peaks appearing September to November.

Damage

• Maggots feed inside the floral bud leading to formation of gall like structure which do not
  develop in to flower/capsules.
• The affected buds wither and drop.

Cultural Control

• Use resistant tolerant varieties like RT-46, Swetha Til, RT-103, RT-108, RT-125 and RT-127
• Intercrop with mungbean, pearl millet and groundnut.

Mechanical Control

• Clip the galls, pick and burn the shed buds.

Biological Control

• Use larval parasites of gall fly like Eurytoma dentipectus Ghan, Bracon hebetor Say, E. nosiotes sp. Crawford

Chemical Control

• Spray crop at bud initiation stage with carbaryl 50 WP at the rate of 2.5 kg or dimethoate 0.03% or endosulfan 0.07%.