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Crop Protection :: Pests of Moringa

Bud worm: Noorda moringae
Symptoms of damage
  • Larva bores into flower buds and causes shedding

Identification of pest
  • Eggs: Creamy oval eggs laid singly on flower buds.
  • Larva: Dirty brown with a prominent mid dorsal stripe, black head and prothoracic shield
  • Pupa: Pupation takes place in earthen cocoon in the soil

Adult

  • Forewings: dark brown
  • Hind wings: white with brown border

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Leaf caterpillar: Noorda blitealis

Symptoms of damage
  • Larva feeds on the leaflets reducing them into papery structures

Identification of pest
  • Egg: creamy white oval eggs and laid in clusters on leaves.
  • Larva: Devoid of prothoracic shield
  • Adult: Similar to N.moringae but bigger in size
Adult

Management
  • Plough around trees to expose and kill pupae
  • Collect and destroy damaged buds along with caterpillar
  • Set up light trap @ 1/ha
  • Spray insecticides like  Carbaryl 50 WP@ 1gm/ lit or malathion 50 EC 2 ml/ lit of water

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Hairy caterpillar Eupterote mollifera

Symptoms of damage
  • Larva seen in groups in tree trunks
  • Feed gregariously
  • Scraping the bark and gnawing foliage
  • Severe infestation leads to defoliation of the tree


Identification of pest
  • Eggs laid in clusters on  leaves and tender stem
  • Larval: Brownish in colour with densely hairy.
  • Adult - large size moth with uniform light yellowish brown in colour
Adult

Management
  • Collect and destroy egg masses and caterpillars
  • Set up light trap @ 1 / ha to attract and kill adults immediately after rain
  • Use burning torch to kill congregating larvae on the trunk
  • Spray  FORS @ 25g/lit or carbaryl 50 WP @ 2g/lit

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Pod fly: Gitona distigma

Symptoms of damage
  • Drying and splitting of fruits from tip.
  • Oozing of gummy exudate from fruit           

Identification of pest
  • Egg: Cigar shaped, laid in groups on the grooves of tender pods.
  • Maggot: Cream coloured maggot
  • Adult: Yellowish fly with red eyes
Adult


Management
  • Collect and destroy all the fallen and damaged fruits
  • Use attractants like citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, vinegar  (Acetic acid), dextrose or lactic acid
  •  Rake up the soil under the trees or plough the infested field to destroy puparia
  • Spray insecticides like Nimbecidine 3ml/lit during 50 % fruit set and 35 days later

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Bark caterpillar: Indarbela tetraonis

Symptoms of damage
  • Zig-zag galleries  and silken webbed masses comprising of chewed material and excreta of larva.


Identification of pest
  • Larva: long, stout and dirty brown in colour

Adult

  • Pale brown moth
  • Forewings -having brown spots and streaks
  • Hind wings -white in colour
Bore hole damage
Adult

Management
  • Clean all webbed material and excreta
  • Plug the holes with coton wool soaked in fumigants like chloroform, formalin or petrol and seal it with mud.

 

Source
www.tastypalettes.com
www.plantogram.com
pikul.lib.ku.ac.th


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