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.  

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