TNAU Agritech Portal :: Crop Protection

Crop Protection :: Finger Millet

Cutworm: Spodoptera exigua

Symptom of damage:


Infected leaves		Uneaten midrib	Scrapping of leaves

Identification of the pest:

Egg: Lays cluster of reddish brown eggs on the lower portion of young plants
Larva: Brownish green with wavy lines in dorsal surface and lateral yellow stripes
Pupa: Pupates in the soil in earthen cocoons
Adult: Brown moth with white hindwings


Egg	Larva	Pupa	Adult

Management:

Remove weeds and stubbles after harvesting
Avoid green manure and apply FYM to prevent cutworm egg laying
Spray carbaryl 50 WP @2.5 kg/ha or quinalphos 20 EC@2 lit/ha or phoshalone 35 EC @1.25 lit/ha
Use Steinernema carpocapsae entomopathogenic nematode or Beauveria bassiana fungi at emergenge of cutworm.
Before one week of sowing, apply Bacillus thuringenesis + Rice husk in main field to control cutworm
Release Trichogramma parasitoid weekly once for 3 weeks continuously to control cutworm eggs