Symptoms of damage:
- The early instar larvae feed gregariously on the under surface of the leaf leading to skeletonization of the leaves
- Sometimes the feeding is so heavy that only petioles and branches are left behind. In case of severe attack cause complete defoliation
Identification of the pest:
- Egg: Egg masses appear golden brown
- Larva: Pale greenish with dark markings, gregarious in the early stages
- Adult: Forewings are brown colour with wavy white markings, Hind wings- white colour with a brown patch along the margin
Management:
- Collect and destroy the egg masses and caterpillars in the early stages of infestation
- Plough the field so as to expose the pupae to predators and parasitoids
- Monitoring the pest with pheromone traps (4-5/acre) helps in timely treatment
- To control early stage larvae, spray neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) 5% or chlorpyriphos 2.5ml 2ml or quinolphos 2ml or neem oil 5ml/ litre of water
- As the grown up larvae move down to soil to hide during day time, poison bait (1 litre of 1kg carbaryl+10kg of rice bran+1 kg jaggery+1 litre of water to make the bait in to pellets for one hectare) placement at base of the plants helps in killing the larvae
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