PESTS OF MAIZE, SORGHUM

AND CUMBU
LECTURE NO.3
 Shoot fly or Stem fly, Atherigona orientalis
Muscidae: Diptera

• Category: Serious pest of maize

• Distribution: Widely distributed in Europe, Africa and
Asia. In India, it is more serious in southern parts.
• Period of activity: A serious pest of maize,
particularly on the crop grown during summer
season.
• Host range: It also infests sorghum, wheat, small
millets (Panicum spp.) and grasses.
 Nature and symptoms of damage
• The maggots bore into the stem
and cut the main shoot and feed
on the main shoot, the growing
points are destroyed .
• It attacks the very young (1-4
days old) seedlings, producing
deformed, twisted and dead
hearted plants.
• Young plants show typical dead
heart symptoms.
• Production of secondary and
tertiary tillers and rosette
appearance of the plant.
 Pest identification and life cycle
Egg:
• The female fly lays approximately 40 eggs
singly on the underside of the leaves during
its life span of about one month.
• The eggs are white, elongate, flattened and
somewhat boat shaped.
Maggot:
• Yellowish white tiny maggots
• The growing points of the plant die and decay
on which the maggots feed.
• They feed inside the main shoot for 6-10 days.
Pupa:
• Pupate either inside the stem
or come out and pupate in
the soil – PP: 1 week
Adult:
• Adult is a small dark fly.
• Female fly has whitish grey
head – thorax - abdomen is
yellowish with paired brown
patches.
• Male is darker in colour.
• Life cycle: 30-35 days
 Management
• Treat the seeds with imidacloprid 70 WS @
10g/kg of seeds.
• Neem seed kernel extract 5 %
• Soil application of carbofuron @ 33.3 kg/ha at
the time of sowing.
 Maize borer, Chilo partellus
Pyralidae: Lepidoptera
• Category: Most destructive pest
• Distribution: Sri lanka, India, Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Uganda, Central and East Africa.
It is found throughout India.
• Host range: Maize, bajra, sugarcane, sudan
grass and some other grasses
 Nature of damage and symptoms
• The caterpillar damage maize by
boring into the stems, cobs or
ears.
• The young larvae first feed on the
leaves, making a few shot holes -
then bore their way downwards
through the central whorl as its
opens.
• More shot-holes become visible,
indicating an earlier attack and
the plant also shows dead-hearts.
 Identification and life cycle
Egg
• Lay eggs - underside of the leaves
• Flat, oval, yellowish and are laid overlapping clusters
each containing upto 20 eggs.
• A female lays over 300 eggs during its life-span of 2-
12 days.
• Hatch in 4-5 days in summer.
Larva:
• The grown up caterpillars are
bout 20-25 mm long and dirty
greyish white - black head and
four brownish longitudinal
stripes.
• Larva become full-fed in 14-
28 days, passing through six
stages.
• The full-grown caterpillars of
the last generation- hibernate
- in stubble, stalks.
Pupa:
• Grown up caterpillar after
marking a hole in the stem
pupates inside it.
• Pupal period lasts about 7-10
days.
Adult:
• Yellowish grey moths - 25 mm
across the wings when
spread.
• Life cycle: The life cycle is
completed in about 3 weeks -
5 generations in a year.
 Management
• Destroy the stubble, weeds and other alternate host
of the stem borer by ploughing the field after
harvest.
Push and pull strategy:
• Grow Desmodium as inter crop and Napier crop in
borders.
• Desmodium smell push the adults towards the
Napier grass which pull the adults - allow the adults
females to lay eggs but kill the larvae with resinous
substances in the leaves.
Push-pull strategy
• Spray with any of the following insecticides:
• Cartap hydrochloride 50 SP @ 500g/ha,
• Chlorantraniliprole 185 SC @ 150 ml/ha,
• Fipronil 5 SC @ 1000 ml/ha,
• Fipronil 480 SC @ 1000 ml/ha and
• Apply twice at 7-10 days intervals carbofuran 3G in
the whorls of only infested plants that show fresh
borer injury in the central leaves.
• Apply granules to the whorl of plants @ 0.5-1.25
kg/ha per application
 Cob worm or earworm, Helicoverpa armigera
Noctuidae: Lepidoptera
• Category: It is cosmopolitan
and widely distributed in
India. It is serious pest of
Maize.
Nature of damage and
symptoms:
• Larva feeds on silk and
developing grains.
• Damage on grains and
presence of broken grains
in the ear head are the
result of attack.
 Identification and life cycle
Egg:
• Lay eggs singly on tender parts of the plants.
• A single female laid as 741 eggs in 4 days.
• Eggs - shining greenish yellow and are round
and hatch in 2-4 days.
Larva:
• Greenish with dark broken
grey lines along the side of
the body and full-fed in 13-
19 days - measure 35 mm -
last instar.
Pupa:
• Full-grown larvae come out
and pupate in soil.
• The pupal period lasts 8-15
days.
Adult:
• Stout, yellowish brown with a
dark speck area on the
forewings - greyish wavy lines
and a black kidney shaped
mark
• Hind wings are whitish with
blackish patch along the outer
margin.
• Life cycle: Total life cycle is
completed in 32-38 days.
• There may be as many as 8
generations in a year
 Management
• ETL: 10 % damage.
• Hand pick the caterpillars and destroy
• Set up of light traps, to attract and kill
the adults
• Set up of pheromone traps @ 12 /ha to
attract male moths.
• Two application of NPV at 10 days
interval at 1.5 X 1012 POB is effective in
reducing the larval population of
Helicoverpa armigera
• Trap cropping: One row of sunflower as
intercrop for every 9 of Maize and
plant redgram as border crop
• Release egg parasiotid, Trichogramma
chilonis @ 1 lakh/ha.
• Mixed cropping with non-preferred crop like
mustard, linseed, wheat and barley
• Se up bird perches at the rate 50/ha
• Apply any one of the following on 3rd and 18th day
after cob emergence.
• Azadiractin 0.03 % EC @ 500 ml/ha or
• Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC @ 150 ml/ha or
• Emamectin benzoate 5 SG @ 190-220 g/ha or
• Fipronil 5 SC @ 2000 ml/ha or
• Flubendiamide 39.35 SC @ 100-125 ml/ha or
• Indoxacarb 14.5 SC @ 500 ml/ha or
• Spinosad 45 sc @ 165-220 ml/ha or
• Thiodicarb 75 WP @ 1000 g/ha.
 Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda
Noctuidae: Lepidoptera
• Devastating pest - native to the tropical and
subtropical region of America.
• FAW has been reported for the first time in
India during May 2018 in Karnataka - spread
into the several states of India within a short
span.
 Nature of Damage
• FAW attacks all stages of
maize crop from seedling
emergence to ear
development.
• Young larvae of FAW feed in
and around the whorl leaves
by scraping - skeletonizing
the upper epidermis leaving a
silvery transparent membrane
resulting into papery spots.
• The damage also results in
pinhole symptoms on the
leaves.
• Older larvae remain and feed
inside the whorl.
• The damages by late instars
(4 instar onwards) result in
extensive defoliation of
leaves - presence of large
amounts of faecal pellets in
whorls.
• Damage during vegetative
stage leads to leaf damage
but if damage happens
during reproductive stage it
may damage tassels or may
bore inside the corn ear and
eat away the kernels. .
 Pest identification and life cycle
Egg: Moths lay egg masses on upper or
under side of the leaf and covered with tan
coloured scales.
• Each egg mass contains 50- 150 eggs –
• EP: 4-5 days.
Larva:
• The larva contains reddish brown head-
white, inverted Y-shaped suture between
the eyes.
• The larva contains 6 instars LP: 15-18
days.
• Four large spots are arranged in a square
shape on segment 8 - in trapezoid
pattern on segment 9.
Pupa:
• Pupa is reddish brown in color.
PP: 7-9 days.
Adult:
• The forewing of adult male moth
consists of fawn coloured spot and a
white patch at the apical margin of the
wing .
• Female moths are less distinctly marked
ranging from uniform grayish brown to a
fine mottling of grey and brown.
• The total lifecycle completes in about 30-
35 days .
• Adult longevity varies from 4-7 days.
• The adult moth can fly up to 500 km
before oviposition
 Management
• Deep plough the fields to expose pupae to sun light
and predatory birds .
• Maintain field bunds clean and plant flowering plants
such as marigold, sesame, niger, sunflower,
coriander, fennel etc. to attract natural enemies.
• Seed treatment: Cyantraniliprole 19.8 +
Thiamethoxam 19.8 FS @ 6 ml/kg of seed offers
protection for 15-20 days of crop growth
• Plant 3-4 rows of napier grass/hybrid napier - trap
crop around maize fields
• Intercrop maize with legumes, viz., pigeonpea,
cowpea, black gram, kidney bean etc. in 2:1 to 4:1
ratio
• Erect bird perches @10/acre to encourage natural
FAW predation by birds
• Install pheromone traps @ 4/acre soon after sowing
and monitor moth catches.
• Application of dry sand in to the whorl of affected
maize plants soon after observation of FAW
incidence in the field.
• Application of Sand + lime in 9:1 ratio in whorls in
thirty days of sowing
• First spray should be with 5% neem seed kernel
extract (NSKE) or azadiractin, 1500 ppm (1 litre/acre)
@ 5ml /litre .
• Release egg parasitoids viz.,Telenomus remus @
4000/ acre or Trichogramma pretiosum @
16,000/acre. Two releases of parasitoids at weekly
interval should be done.
• Whorl application of Bacillus thuringiensis v.
Kurstaki formulations (400g/acre) @ 2g/litre or
• Metarhizium anisopliae or Beauveria bassiana with
(1 kg/acre) @ 5g/litre or Sf NPV (600
ml/acre)@3ml/litre
• Whorl application of any one of the
recommended insecticides for FAW, viz.,
• Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC (80 ml/acre) @ 0.4
ml/litre;
• Thiamethoxam 12.6 % + Lambda cyhalothrin
9.5% ZC (50ml/acre) @ 0.25 ml/litre;
• Spinetoram 11.7 % SC (100ml/acre) @ 0.5
ml/litre;
• Emamectin benzoate 5% SG (80g/acre) @
0.4g/litre is recommended
 Poison bait
• Poison baiting is effective for late instar larvae and is
optional.
• Mix 10 kg rice bran + 2 kg jaggery with 3 litres of
water.
• Keep the mixture for 24 hours to ferment.
• Add anyone of the recommended insecticides
mentioned above at their recommended dosages
and 1 kg of sand just half an hour before application.
• Make into small pellets and apply into whorls of
infested plants only.
 Pink stem borer, Sesamia inferens
Noctuidae: Lepidoptera
• Nature of Damage & Symptoms
• The pink larva bores into the stem and
damage the central shoots by producing the
dead hearts.
• Description
• The adult moth is straw coloured moth with
white wings.
• The larva is pinkish brown with dark head.
Identification and life
cycle
Egg:
• Creamy white spherical eggs
laid in batches in between
leaf sheaths and stem of the
plant.
Larva:
• Pinkish brown with a reddish
brown head.
• Its body is purple pink on top
and white below. LP: 35 days.
• A fully grown larva is upto 35
mm long.
Pupa:
• Brown, obtect pupa,
pupates inside the stem
Adult:
• Straw coloured moth -
forewings having 3 black
spots and a faint brown
mid-stripe - white hind
wings.
 Management
• Install light trap to attract moth
• Install pheromone trap at the rate of 20 traps
her ha
• If crosses ETL spray,
• Chlorantraniliprole 0.4 G at 10 kg/ha as soil
application
• Flubendiamide 20 WG @ 125 g/ha as foliar
spray
 Sap Feeders
Aphids, Rhopalosiphum maidis
Aphididae: Hemiptera
• Nature of Damage and symptoms:
• Aphid sucks the sap from the whorl leaves during the
vegetative stage of the crop.
• It also feeds on the panicles, and produces honeydew on
which sooty molds grow.
• It also transmits maize mosaic virus. Damage may result in
the yellowing, tanning, and drying up of leaves.
• The aphid colony may sometimes cover completely the
emerging tassels and the surrounding leaves preventing the
emergence.
• Ears and shoots are also infested and seed set may be
affected. The tassel, if heavily damaged might become sterile
 Features of Identification and life
cycle
• The aphids are bluish green, 2 mm long, with
black legs, antennae and cornicles.
• The females give birth to apterous forms that
moult four times to become adults.
• Aphids produce winged adults, which mould
five times to become adults. Nymphal
development is completed in 12-15 days.
 Management
• Mechanical removal of infested shoots.
• Conservation of natural enemies such as
coccinellids, chrysopids and syrphids that are
found to feed on the aphids which will reduce
the population considerably.
• Spray thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 100g/ha or
imidaclprid 17.8 SL @ 100 ml/ha or thiacloprid
240 SC @ 500 ml/ha or acetamiprid 20 SP @
100g/ha.
 Shorghum shootfly, Atherigona soccata
Muscidae: Diptera
• Category: The sorghum shoot fly also known as the
sorghum stem fly
• Distribution: Widely distributed pest in Europe,
Africa and Asia. In India, it is more serious in
southern parts.
• Period of activity: Infestation is higher in July-August
and October- November
• Host range: Besides sorghum, it infests maize, wheat,
broom corn, small millets and grasses
 Nature of damage and symptoms
• Insect attacks - young crop - six leaf stage.
• Six weeks after planting, the crop is seldom attacked.
• As the maggots bore into stem - cut the main shoot
and feed on the main shoot, the growing points are
destroyed - plant is almost dead.
• The young plants whole typical dead-heart
symptoms.
• Production of secondary & tertiary tillers and
Rosette appearance of the plant are the symptoms
of damage.
 Pest identification and life-cycle
Egg:
• The female fly lays - 40 eggs
singly on the underside of
the leaves during its life
span of about one month.
• White, elongate, flattened
and boat shaped.
Maggot:
• Yellowish white tiny maggots
creep out
• They feed inside the main
shoots for 60-10 days
Pupa:
• Pupate either inside the stem
or come out and pupate in
soil.
• The pupal period in the
summer lasts about a week.
Adult:
• Small dark fly.
• Female fly has whitish grey head and thorax,
while the abdomen is yellowish with paired
brown patches.
• Male is darker in colour.
• Life cycle: 30-45 days
 Management
• ETL: 10 % dead heart, 1 egg/plant in 10 % of plants
• Plough soon after harvest, remove and destroy the
stubbles
• Early sowing of sorghum immediately after the receipt
of South West or North East monsoon to minimize the
shoot fly incidence.
• Grow resistant varieties like CSH 15R, CHS-7, CHS-8, IS-
5566, 5285 and 5613
• Use higher seed rate (5Kg/acre) and remove the shoot
fly damaged seedlings at the time of thinning.
 Management
• Set up the fish meal trap @ 12/ha
• Treat the seeds with imidacloprid 70 WS @
10g/kg of seeds.
• Spray, neem seed kernel extract 5 %, soil
application of carbofuron @ 33.3 kg/ha at the
time of sowing.
• Spray fipronil 5 SC @ 1000 ml/ha, cypermethrin
10 EC @ 500 ml/ha or neem seed kernel extract 5
% or carbosulfan 25 EC @ 1000 ml/ha.
 Stem borer, Chilo partellus
Pyralidae: Lepidoptera
• Category: Most destructive pest
• Distribution: It is found throughout India.
• Host range: Maize, bajra, sugarcane, sudan
grass and some other grasses
Nature of damage and symptoms
• The caterpillar bores into the stem and feeds
on the central shoot.
• In early stages - caterpillar makes circular
holes on unfolded leaves called as windowing
and later central shoot dries up producing
dead heart.
• Later it acts as internode borer and is found
till the time of harvest.
 Identification of the pest
• Eggs:
• Yellowish in colour, flat and oval laid on the
underside of the leaves, near the midrib.
• Flattened, ovoid and scale
• A female moth lays about 255 eggs -in 3-5
rows in groups of 50-100.
• Hatching takes 2-5 days.
Larva:
• The larva is pale white with
black dots and brown head.
• There are four longitudinal
stripes on its dorsal surface.
• Larval period is 28-35 days.
Pupa:
• Pupation takes place in the
stem in a small chamber and
takes 7-10 days.
Adult:
• Moth is medium sized - straw
coloured.
• Male has pale brown
forewings - dark brown scales
forming a dark area along the
coastal margin.
• Hind wings - light straw in
colour.
• Female possesses forewing of
a lighter colour and nearly
white hind wings.
• Life cycle: 29-33 days and six
generations/year.
 Management
• ETL: 10 % dead heart
• Raise lab-lab, cowpea as a intercrop to minimize
infestation by stem borer (Sorghum: lab lab/cowpea
4:1)
• Set up light trap to attract and kill the adult
• Burning of stubbles and trash, which harbour borers
and act as source of infestation for the next crop.
• Use carbofuran 3 G @ 17 kg/ha and mix the
insecticide with sand to make up a total of 50 kg and
apply in the leaf whorls.
 Management
• Spray with any of the following insecticides:
• Cartap hydrochloride 50 SP @ 500g/ha,
• Chlorantraniliprole 185 SC @ 150 ml/ha,
• Fipronil 5 SC @ 1000-1500 g/ha,
• Fipronil 480 SC @ 1000-1500 g/ha and
 Sorghum earhead bug, Calocoris angustatus
Miridae: Hemiptera
• Category: Most destructive pests
• Distribution: Southern India
• Host range: This bug has been recorded on a
number of cereals, millets and grasses, but its
breeding is mainly restricted to sorghum,
 Nature and symptoms of damage
• Adults and nymphs live inside the ear head and suck
- milky fluid from the tender ripening grains.
• Due to the feeding - grains get shrivelled and chaffy
- unfit for sowing and for consumption.
• Large army of tiny nymphs feed, - may become
blackened at first - eventually dry up producing no
grains.
• Usually high yielding varieties with compact ear
heads - subjected to more infestation than the loose
earheads.
 Identification of the pest
Egg:
• Pale yellowish cigar shaped eggs into the tender of
the shoot between glumes in the centre of the
florets by inserting its ovipositor.
• Lays 150-200 eggs - hatch in 5-7 days.
Nymph:
• Greenish nymph starts feeding on developing grains
in the milk stage.
• The nymph passes through 5 instars
Adult:
• Slender green elongate bug of
about 1 cm long
• Grains are ripe, the bugs stop
multiplying on that crop.
Life cycle:
• Completed in about one
month and
• Produce a number of
generations in a year
 Management
• ETL: 10 BUGS/HEAD
• Dust quinalphos 1.5 D @ 25 kg/ha twice on the first
during flowering and second a week later.
• Grow non-compact ear head producing varieties CSV
7R and CSV 22 – tolerant to ear head bugs
• Spray any one of the following, Spray
• Imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 100-125 ml/ha or
• Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 100 g/ha or
• Buprofezin 25 SC @ 800 ml/ha or
• Thiacloprid 240 SC @ 500 ml/ha or
• Neem seed kernel extract @ 5 %
Sorghum midge, Contarinia sorghicola
Cecidomyiidae: Diptera
• Category: Severe pest in low lying humid areas
• Distribution: Distributed in all the sorghum
growing tracts.
• Host range: only sorghum
 Nature of damage and symptoms
• Damage is caused by the
maggots - feed on the ovaries
- preventing - formation of
grains.
• Maggots develop by feeding
the inside the grains and
causing them to shrivel
• Serious infestation - ear head
may appear to be blight or
blasted - devoid of grains.
 Identification and life cycle
Egg:
• Female inserts eggs singly - developing florets
- lays about 30-100 eggs.
• Eggs are laid inside the glumes of closed or
open flowers.
• Eggs hatch in 2-3 days.
Maggot:
• Newly hatched maggot feed on the ovaries.
• The advanced stage larvae are pink in colour.
• The larva has four instars with a total duration
of 10-11 days.
Pupa:
• Pupate inside damaged flowers/grains.
• The pupal stage lasts about a week.
Adult:
• The adult fly is a very small
fragile mosquito-like insect
with a bright orange
abdomen and a pair of
transparent wings.
Life cycle
• Total life cycle is
completed in 14-22 days
 Management
• ETL: 5/head
• Collect damaged and aborted seeds and burn the
panicle and post-harvest trash.
• Avoid growing susceptible variety namely CSH 1
hybrid
• Spray any one – Azadiractin 0.03% @ 1500ml/ha
• NSKE 5 %
• Beaveria bassiana 1.15 WP @ 2.5 kg/ha
• Dust the ear heads with phosalone 4 % DP @ 25
kg/ha or Quinalphos 1.5 DP @ 26 kg/ha.
 Shoot bug, Peregrinus maidis
Delphacidae: Hemiptera
• Category: serious pest
• Distribution and status: Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
• Period of activity: This pest is active from
September to January and is rather scarce
from March to June.
• Host range: Sugarcane, oats and various
species of grasses
 Nature of damage and symptoms
• The adults and nymphs within
the leaf whorls- leaf sheaths -
also on the leaves suck the plant
sap and cause the shoot to dry.
• As a result of their sucking the
cell sap - leaves become yellow -
growth of the plants is retarded.
• When the attack is severe, the
ears fail to emerge.
 Identification and life cycle
Egg:
• Female bugs make slits in the midribs of the
leaves - lay white, elongate and cyclindrical
eggs in groups on an average 97 eggs.
• The egg period is 7 days
Nymph:
• Light brown with prominent
eyes and wing pads.
• After undergoing 5 moults,
they become adults in 16-18
days.
Adult:
• The adult hopper is yellowish
brown, with translucent wings
and measures 3.2 to 3.8 mm in
length.
• Transmit - virus disease,
freckled yellow of sorghum
• Life cycle: the total life cycle is
completed in 3-4 weeks
 Management
• ETL: 10 bugs/head
• Apply any one of the following on 3rd and 18th
day after panicle emergence:
• Neem seed kernel extract 5 %,
• Phosalone 4 % DP @ 25 kg/ha or
• Quinalphos 1.5 DP @ 26 kg/ha.
 Ear head web worm, Cryptoblabes
gnidiella Pyraustidae: Lepidoptera
• Larva remains in the earhead, web the grains and
feed on them.
Description:
• The adult moth is small with brown forewings
and light brown hindwings
• It lay eggs singly on spikelet and grain
• Larva: Light brown with dark head and dark lines
on the body.
• ETL: 2 per ear head
 Earhead caterpillar, Helicoverpa armigera
Noctuidae: Lepidoptera
Nature of damage and symptoms:
• Caterpillars feed on the grains at the
time of maturity causing chalky
appearance of ears due to partially
eaten grains.
Identification of the pest:
• Larva: Green with dark broken grey
lines and dark and pale bands
shows colour variations-greenish to
brown.
• Adult: Brown coloured moth with a
V shaped speck on forewings and
dull black border on the hind wings
 Plant lice, Rhopalosiphum maidis
Aphididae: Hemiptera
Damage:
• Nymphs and adults suck
plant sap from the leaf,
leaf sheath and
inflorescence.
• They occur in cluster -
cause severe damage to
inflorescence by
hampering pollination.
• Aphid colony secretes
honeydew in plenty.
 Pest identification and life cycle
• Adult - yellow with
dark green legs and
lives inside the
central leaf.
• Reproduction is
parthenogenetic.
• Cloudy and humid
weather favours
reproduction.
 Management
• Spray any one of the following:
• Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 100g/ha,
imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 100 ml/ha, thaicloprid
240 SC @ 500 ml/ha, acetamiprid 20 SP @
100g/ha
 Leaf hoppers, Pyrilla perpusilla
Lophophidae: Hemiptera
• Nature of damage:
• It is found in colonies on the lower surface of
the leaves. Nymphs and adult suck the leaf
sap.
• Symptoms:
• Leaves become yellow, covered with black
sooty mould; top leaves get dried up and
lateral buds germinate.
 Identification and life cycle
• Pyrilla adult females - elongate pale white to
slightly bluish eggs in loosely arranged
elongated clusters of 20-50 which are covered
by white waxy filaments of the caudal tuft.
• Five nymphal instars.
• The egg and nymphal stages occupies 7-12
days and 24-65 days respectively
 Management
• Avoid excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers.
• Conservation of adult nymphal parasitoid
Epiricania melanoleuca.
• Spray any one of the following:
• Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 100g/ha,
imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 100 ml/ha, thaicloprid
240 SC @ 500 ml/ha, acetamiprid 20 SP @
100g/ha, spiromesifen 240 SC @ 500 ml/ha
 OTHER PESTS
• Leaf roller, Marasmia trapezalis
Pyralidae: Lepidoptera
Nature of Damage:
• Serious on young crops - feeds on
the leaf epidermis.
• It causes rolling and longitudinal
patches on the leaves and the tips
of the leaves dry up.
• Varieties with brood leaves are
attacked severely.
 Pest Identification
• Eggs are laid on young leaves.
• Larva is greenish yellow with
setae over its body.
• Head and thoracic shield are
brownish in colour.
• Pupation takes place within
the rolled leaf.
• Adults are greyish with shining
coloured patterns.
• Anal margins are darker in
colour.
 Flea beetle, Monolepta signata
Chrysomelidae: Coleoptera
Nature of Damage:
• The pest occurs in small
number is feeding on the
leaves.
• It nibbles the leaves & small
holes on the leaves termed
as shot holes.
 Slug caterpillar, Thosea apierens
Lamicodidae: Lepidoptera
Nature of Damage:
• The feed on the leaves and
cause defoliation.
• Harvest is made difficult -
reported the even cattle do not
relish the fodder.
Pest identification:
• Larva is green with stinging
hairs.
• Adults are dark brown stout
moth with a pair of white bands
on the forewings.
 Semilooper, Antoba silicula
Noctuidae: Lepidoptera
Damage:
• Extensive webbing of grains and presence of
broken grains on the ear head.
Pest Identification:
• Larva: Pale yellow semilooper.
• Adult: Small moth with reddish buff coloured
wings with wavy lines.
 Management
• Spray Flubendiamide 20 WG @ 0.5 g/lit or
cypermethrin 10 EC @ 1.5 ml/lit of water.
 Wingless grasshopper, Neorthacris
simulans Acrididae: Orthoptera
• Grasshoppers: Deccan,
Colemania sphernariodes
• Damage: Defoliation and also
feeds on flowers and ears.
• Life stage:
• Deccan Grasshopper: Greenish
yellow with blue black antennae
and purple band from behind the
eye and laterally on thorax.
• Wingless grasshopper: Greenish
brown in colour with a red
stripes on the sides; without
wings
 Non-insect pests
• Sorhum eriyophid mite, Aceria sorghi
Eriyophidae: Acarina
• Nature of damage: Leaf crinckling and rolling
of terminal leaves
Bionomics:
• Both nymph and adult are white, microscopic
and vermiform
 Shoot fly, Atherigona approximate
Muscidae: Diptera
Nature of damage and symptoms:
• Maggot damage - growing point - causes dead
heart.
• It also infests the peduncle of ear head at the
time of emergence from boot-leaf,
• Preventing seed setting at advanced stage of crop
growth and resulting corkscrew or chaffy grains
in the upper portion
 Identification and life cycle
• Eggs: Eggs are laid on the
shoots near the soil surface.
Egg period: 37-48 hours
• Maggot: White cylindrical
maggots. Maggot period: 7-9
days
• Pupa: Puparium brown colour,
pupates inside the stem, Pupal
period: 6 days
• Adult: greyish white fly
 Management
• Treat the seeds with imidacloprid 70 WS @
10g/kg of seeds.
• Plough soon after harvest, remove and destroy
the stubbles
• Set up the fish meal trap @ 12/ha
• Spray imidacloprid 17.8 SL@ 200 ml/ha,
• Neem seed kernel extract 5 %,
• Soil application of carbofuron @ 33.3 kg/ha at
the time of sowing.
 Ear head midge, Geromyia peniseti
Cecidomyiidae: Diptera
Nature and symptoms of damage
• Maggot attacks developing grains - feed on
the ovaries.
• As a result of their feeding grain formation is
affected and in case of heavy infestation
entire head appear to be aborted.
• Grain less glumes with white pupal case
attached to the tip of the spikelet
 Identification and life cycle
• Eggs: Eggs are laid singly or in pairs in
spikelet’s and may be found sticking to
glumes.
• Maggot; White cylindrical maggots
• Pupa: Puparium brown colour and pupates
inside the spikelet.
• Adult: Light pink, fragile fly.
 Management
• Collect damaged and aborted seeds and burn the
panicle and post-harvest trash.
• Spray fipronil 5 SC @ 1000 ml/ha or phosalone 35 EC
@ 1140 ml/ha.
• Dust the ear heads with phosalone 4 % DP @ 25
kg/ha or Quinalphos 1.5 DP @ 26 kg/ha.
 Leaf beetle, Lema downsei
Galerucidae: Coleoptera
Nature of damage and symptoms:
• Grub and adult scarp the green matter of
leaves causing whitening and
• Drying of leaves leading to burnt up
appearance.
 Identification of the pest
• Eggs: Eggs are laid on the leaf tissue
• Grub: Whitish with a black head, swollen
humped body and has the habit of carrying its
faecal matter dorsally
• Pupa: Pupation takes place inside the soil
• Adult: Straw coloured beetle.
 Management
• Spray any of the insecticides
• Acephate 75 SP @ 780 kg/ha
• Emamectin benzoate 5 SG @ 100g/ha
• Azadiractin 0.03 EC at 3000 ml/ha
 Root grub, Arthrodeis sp
Melolonthidae: Coleopteran
Nature of damage and symptoms:
• Grubs feed on the roots of rain fed crop
resulting yellowing and gradual wilting of
entire plants.
Pest identification: Shiny black beetle
 Black hairy caterpillar: Estigmene lactinea
Arctiidae: Lepidoptera
• Damage symptoms: Larva feeds on leaves
voraciously and causes severe defoliation.
• Bionomics
• Adult is a large white moth with crimson
markings on head, body and wings.
• Larva is thick with black head and hairs.
 Semilooper: Antoba (=Eublemma) silicula
Noctuidae: Lepidoptera
Distribution: India
• Hosts: Sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet
• Damage symptoms: Extensive webbing of grains and
presence of broken grains on the ear head.
• Bionomics
• Eggs are laid on spikelet and grain. The egg period is 4
days.
• Larva is a pale yellow semilooper. Larval period lasts for
12-13 days. It pupates within the gallery for about 12
days.
• The adult moth is small with reddish buff coloured
wings having wavy lines.
• ETL: Caterpillars 2 Nos./ear head
 Management for black hairy
caterpillar and semilooper
• Install the light to attract and kill the adult
moth
• Spray any of the following insecticides,
chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC @ 180 ml/ha or
bifenthrin 10 EC @ 500 ml/ha.
 Stink bug, Nezara viridula
Pentatomidae: Hemiptera
• Damage symptoms: Grains become chaffy or spotted
black and get shrivelled. A stinking smell emanates
from the bug.
• Bionomics: Adult is green in colour. Nymph is brownish
red with multi-colour spots.
• Management:
• Spray any one of the following,
• Imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 125 ml/ha or thiamethoxam 25
WG @ 100 g/ha or
• Buprofezin 25 SC @ 800 ml/ha or
• Thiacloprid 240 SC @ 500 ml/ha.