Gram pod borer

• Defoliation in early stages
• Larva’s head alone thrust inside the pods and the rest of the body hanging out.
• Pods with round holes

Identification of pest

Scientific Name - Helicoverpa armigera

• Eggs  : Spherical in shape and creamy white in colour, laid singly
  Larva : Shows colour variation from greenish to brown. Green with dark brown grey lines laterally on the body with lateral white lines and also has dark and pale bands.
  Pupa : Brown in colour, occurs in soil, leaf, pod and crop debris
  Adult : Light pale brownish yellow stout moth. Fore wing grey to pale brown with V shaped speck.Hind wings are pale smoky white with a broad blackish outer margin.

Spotted pod borer

Symptom of Damage

• Defoliation in early stages
• Larva’s head alone thrust inside the pods and the rest of the body hanging out.
• Pods with round holes

Scientific Name - Maruca testulalis

• Larva - Greenish white with brown head. It has two pairs of dark spots on the back of each segment
• Adult - Forewings- light brown colour with white markings; Hindwings – white colour with brown markings at the lateral edge

Spiny pod borer

Symptom of Damage

• Dropping of flowers and young pods
• Older pods marked with a brown spot where a larvae has entered

Identification of pest

Scientific Name - Etiella zinckenella

• Larval
  • greenish initially, turns pink before pupation.
  • It has 5 black spots on the prothorax
• Adult
  • Brownish grey moth 
  • Prothorax – orange in colour
  • Fore wing - has a white stripe along the anterior margin

Blue butterfly

Symptom of Damage

• Buds, flowers and young pods with boreholes
• Presence of slug like caterpillar.
• Honey dew secretion with black ant movements

Identification of pest

Scientific Name - Lampides boeticus

• Larva – It is flat and slightly rounded; Pale green with a rough skin.
• Adult - moth is greyish blue with prominent black spots in the hind wings and a long tail; Ventral side of wings with numerous stripes and brown spots

Symptoms of damage

• Buds, flowers and young pods with boreholes and presence of slug like caterpillar.
• Larval entry hole on the pod is plugged with excreta.

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Aphis craccivora

• Larva - pale green or yellow with a red line and short black hairs on the body.
• Adult - butterfly is blue, medium sized with 5 black spots in the hind wings and two black spots in the inner margin.

Management Strategies

• Deep summer ploughing in 2-3 years to eliminate quiescent pupa.
• Early sowing, short duration varieties.
• Avoid closer plant spacing.
• Grow tall sorghum as comparison crop to serve as biological bird perches
• Collect and destroy larvae and adults to the extent possible
• Install pheromone traps at a distance of 50 m @ 5 traps/ha for each insect pest.
• Install Bird perches @ 50/ha.
• Setting of light traps (1 light trap/5 acre) to kill moth population.
• Control is achieved by releasing of Trichogramma chlionis at weekly intervals @1.5 lakh/ha/ week for four times.
• Conserve green lacewing, predatory stink bugs, spider, ants
• Bt @ 600 g, neem oil/ pungum oil 80 EC @ 2ml/lit

Bean Aphids

Symptoms of damage

• Leaves, inflorescence stalk and young pods  covered with dark coloured aphids
• Honey dew secretion with black ant movements

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Aphis craccivora

• Nymphs and Adult – dark coloured with cornicles in the abdomen

Symptoms of damage

• Leave mottled and yellowish in colour
• Green colour insects found under surface of leaves

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Empoasca kerri

• Adult – elongate, active, wedge shape, green insects

Symptoms of damage

• Pods with black spots
• Shedding of green pods
• Poorly filled pods with shriveled grains inside

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Riptortus pedestris

• Brownish black and hemispherical
• Nymphs : Resemble dark brown ants

Symptoms of damage

• Cluster on the  plant  parts and suck the sap

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Coptosoma cribraria

• Nymphs and Adult - Sub globular, oval and greenish shield bug
• It has a characteristic buggy odour

Symptoms of damage

• Leave mottled and yellowish in colour
• Vector of yellow mosaic virus

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Bemisia tabaci

• Adults -are small, yellow bodied insects with white wings which are densely   covered with a waxy powder.
• Nymphs and pupae -are black and round or oval. Pupae have marginal bristles

• Shaking the infested plants over the vessels of oil and water or oily cloth gives most effective

Blister beetle

Symptoms of damage

• The adult feeds voraciously on buds and flowers

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Mylabris phalerata

• Eggs - are light yellowish in colour and cylindrical in shape
• Larvae - Young grubs are white in colour
• Adult – Elytra are black in colour with a round orange spot and two transverse wavy   orange bands across the wings

Management Strategies

• Manual collection or collection with insect net and killing of adults in kerosenized water appears to be the only possible solution.