Crop Protection :: Finger Millet
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Common name: Finger millet Scientific name: Eleusine coracana
Family :Poaceae
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Important pests of Finger Millet
| 1. Pink stem borer: Sesamia inferens |
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Symptom of damage
- Pink larva enters into the stem and causes dead heart symptom.
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Identification of the pest
- Egg - Bead like laid in rows within the leaf sheath
- Larva - Pinkish brown with dark head
- Adult - Straw coloured moth with white wings
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Management
- Spray phorate 10% CG @ 1 lit/ha at every 20 days interval after germination
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| 2. Earhead bug: Calocoris angustatus, |
Symptoms of damage
- Nymphs and adult suck the juice from within the grains when they are in the milky stage.
- Grains shrink and turn black in colour and ill filled (or) chaffy.
- Presence of large number of nymphs and adults are seen on the ear head.
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Identification of the pest
- Egg - Blue cigar shaped, laid under the glumes or into the middle of the florets
- Nymphs - Slender, green in colour
- Adults - Male is green in colour. Female is green with a brown margin
- Spray carbaryl 50 WP @ 1.0 kg/ha at milky stage
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| 3. Aphids: Rhopalosiphum maidis, |
Symptoms of damage
- Yellowing of leaves
- Aphid Colonies present on the central leaf whorl and ears
- Presence of ants
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Identification of the pest:
- Yellow with dark green legs
Management
- Spray any one of the following insecticides mixed in 10 litres of
water using a high volume sprayer if dusting is not done :
- Methyl demeton 25 EC 20 ml/ha
- Dimethoate 30 EC 20 ml/ha
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| 4. Root aphid: Tetraneura nigriabdominalis |
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Symptoms of damage
- Infested plants turn pale yellow and become stunted.
- Wilting and drying of plants in patches
- Black ants attend them for honeydew and their presence confirm the root aphid attack
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Identification of the pest
- Adult - Pinkish and globular
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Management
- Spray carbaryl 50 WP@ 1 kg/ha (500 l spray fluid/ha).
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