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Crop Protection :: Pests of Black and Green Gram
Gram pod borer: Helicoverpa armigera

Symptoms of Damage

  • Young larvae - defoliation
  • Grown up larvae feed on buds, flowers and pods. Developing and partly matured seeds are completely eaten by the larvae.
  • Head alone is inserted and the rest of the body will be outside while feeding.
  • Single larva may destroy 30–40 pods before it reaches maturity.

Identification of the pest

  • Eggs – * Several hundreds, spherical and creamy white, laid singly on tender leaves, buds and flowers. Egg period 3 – 4 days.

  • Larva - * Newly hatched larvae - light in colour with dark spiny spots and dark head.
                 * Fully grown larvae - 30 – 40mm long.
                 * Larval period 12 – 16 days. .

  • Pupa * Pupates in soil in earthen cocoon/ leaf/ pod/ crop debris.
              * Pupal period - 6 – 10 days.

  • Adult - * Moths - light pale brownish yellow and stout.
                * Brownish or reddish brown forewings in females and dull greenish to yellow or light brown in males.
                * Life span 10 days and feed on nectar.  

Larva

Adult

Management

  • Sowing three rows of sorghum or maize seed using 250 g/ha around the field.
  • Install Pheromone traps for Helicoverpa armigera @ 12/ha to monitor the population.
  • Light trap @ 1/ha to attract and kill the adult moths.
  • Bird perches @ 50/ha to enable the birds to feed on the larvae.
  • Application of NPV @ 250 LE /ha with teepol 0.1% and Jaggery 0.5%
  • Need based application of any one of the following insecticides
  • Azadirachtin 0.03% WSP (300 PPM) @ 1000 ml/ac
  • Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki @ 200 – 250 ml/ac.
  • Emamectin benzoate 5 SG @ 80 – 90 g/ac
  • Indoxacarb 15.8 SC @ 133 ml/ac
  • Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC @ 40 ml/ac
  • Spinosad 45 SC @ 50 – 64 ml/ac
  • Flubendiamide 480 SC @ 40 ml/acre
  • Lufenuron 5.4 EC @ 240 ml/ac

 


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