Pests of Crops & Stored Grain
and their Management
ENT- 311
5th Semester
Insect pests of Fiber crop
COTTON
1. Jassid - Amrasca biguttula biguttula
(Cicadellidae: Hemiptera)
• Nymph- Wedge shaped.
• Adult- Greening yellow in summer, acquiring
reddish tinge in winter.
• The female hopper inserts eggs inside the leaf
veins.
• NSD: Nymphs & adults suck sap from leaves,
cause hopper burn; leaves turn downwards.
Management:
• Seed treatment with imidacloprid 70 WS@
5g/kg.
• Predator- Chrysoperla sp..
2. Aphid - Aphis gossypii
(Aphididae: Hemiptera)
•Adult- Greenish brown in appearance.
•NSD: Nymphs & adults suck sap from
undersurface of leaves & shoots; excrete
honeydew.
• Management:
• Seed treatment with imidacloprid 70 WS@ 5g/kg.
• Use of Yellow sticky traps.
• Predator- Coccinella septempunctata; Menochilus
sexmaculatus.
3. Whitefly - Bemisia tabaci
(Aleyrodidae: Hemiptera)
• Nymph- Louse like pale yellow .
• Adult- Yellowish body dusted with white waxy
powder.
• NSD: Nymphs suck the sap from under surface of
leaves; excrete honeydew; Chlorotic spots on the
leaves which latter coalesce forming irregular
yellowing of leaf tissue which extends from veins to
the outer edges of the leaves. It transmit leaf curl
virus .
• Management:
• Same as aphid.
4. Mealy bug - Phenacoccus solenopsis
(Pseudococcidae: Hemiptera)
• Nymph- Pale yellow with reddish eyes.
• Adult- Pink covered with white mealy powder.
• NSD : Nymphs & adults suck sap from leaves, flowers buds,
petioles, twigs, internodes and stem; excrete honeydew.
• Management:
• Remove weeds.
• Destroy infested host plants.
• Predators- Chrysoperla carnea, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri.
5. Spotted bollworm - Earias insulana, E. vittella
(Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)
• Larva- Dull green with tiny stout bristles and a series of
longitudinal black spots on body
• Adult- E. vitella green fore wings with a white streak on each
while, E. insulana completely green.
• It lays the eggs on the bracts, leaf axils and veins on the
undersurface of leaf and the grown up larva pupates in the silken
cocoon found on plants or on fallen buds & bolls.
• NSD: Larvae bore into growing shoots, flower
buds, flowers and fruits causing heavy shedding
of fruiting bodies.
• Management:
• Application of Bt cotton.
• Trichogramma chilonis @ 1.5 lakh/ha.
• Clean cultivation.
• Destroy alternate hosts.
6. American bollworm - Helicoverpa armigera
(Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)
• NSD: Circular holes are seen in the boll along
with faecal pellets around it. Larvae bore into
bolls and feed on seeds.
• Management:
• Same as Spotted bollworm.
7. Pink bollworm - Pectinophora gossypiella
(Gelechiidae: Lepidoptera)
• Larva- Pinkish in color with dark head.
• Adult- Deep brown, blackish spots on fore wings and
hind wing margins deeply fringed.
• Life cycle- lays 125 eggs; egg: 4-25 days, larval: 25-35
days, pupal period: 6-20 days. Hibernation in larval
stage in double seed.
• The adult moth lays eggs on the bolls or in between
bracts or on buds and flowers. Pupation takes place in
a thin silken cocoon among the lint, in between bracts.
• NSD: Larvae enter flower buds, flowers or bolls;
infested flower show rosette shaped bloom; entry hole
gets closed and larva feed on seeds.
• Management:
• Use of tolerant varieties (Khandwa-2, JKH-1, Abadita,
LH 900, Sujay and Desi cotton).
8. Red cotton bug - Dysdercus koenigii
(Pyrrhocoridae: Hemiptera)
• Bugs are crimson red with white bands across
abdomen;lays 100-130 eggs in moist soil.
• NSD: Nymphs & adults suck sap from leaves & green
bolls causing staining of the lint and make the seeds
unfit for sowing. The bacterium Nematospora
gossypii enters the site of injury and stains the fibre.
9. Dusky cotton bug - Oxycarenus hyalinipennis
(Lygaeidae: Hemiptera)
• Adults dark brown having dirty white
transparent wings. Eggs are cigar shaped and are
laid in open bolls or other plant parts.
• NSD: Nymphs & adults suck sap from immature
seeds in open bolls and also stain the lint.
10. Leaf roller - Sylepta derogata
(Pyralidae:Lepidoptera)
• Eggs are laid on the leaves and the pupation
takes place inside the leaf rolls.
• NSD: Leaves are rolled by larvae which feed on
green matter by scrapping.
11. Shoot weevil - Alcidodes affaber
(Curculionidae: Coleoptera)
• The weevil is dark grayish brown with cross bands
on the elytra.
• NSD: Grubs bore into top shoots and leaf axils and
feed on it.
12. Stem weevil - Pempherulus affinis
(Curculionidae: Coleoptera)
• The female weevil scoops a small cavity on the
stem and lays egg on it and pupation also occurs in
the stem.
• NSD: Grubs tunnel round the stem cause gall like
swelling .
• Management:
• Affected plants should be removed & destroyed.
• Carbaryl 10%DP 25 kg/ha
JUTE
1. Semilooper - Anomis sabulifera
(Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)
• Specific pest of jute.
• NSD: Green caterpillars feed on apical buds upto
15th leaf from the top. Pupation takes place on
leaves or in soil.
2. Stem girdler - Nupsera bicolor postbrunnea
(Cerambycidae: Coleoptera)
• Major pest of Corchorus olitorius.
• NSD: Adult beetle girdles the stem at two levels
before starting oviposition, resulting in the
breakage of fiber length.
3. Stem weevil - Apion corchori
(Apionidae; Coleoptera)
• Weevil is brown or dull black and has small whitish
setae on body.
• Corchorus capsularis is more susceptible.
• NSD: It bores holes for oviposition in stem and
larvae feed inside the stem. Gall like swelling is
formed due to damage.
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