1. Tomato fruit borer Helicoverpa armigera Family: - Noctuidea Order: - Lepidoptera Economic importance Pod borer, aphids and pulse beetle are the important pests of this crop. Besides, cutworms and leaf eating caterpillars also damage this crop. Marks of Identification The moths are light yellowish-brown about 25mm in length and 37mm in wing expanse. Forewings are pale brown with black. Hindwings are lighter in colour having smoky dark margins. Full-grown caterpillars are greenish with dark broken grey along the sides of body, measuring 31 to 50mm in length. Nature of damage Caterpillars feed on tender foliage and young pods. They make holes in the pods and feed on developing seeds by inserting anterior half portion of their body inside the pods. Host plants It is a polyhagous species gram, cotton, tomato, peas, tobacco, ganja and sunflower are some of the important host plants. Life history Shinning greenish yellow spherical eggs are laid singly on the tender parts of plants. They hatch in about 6-7 days. On hatching the caterpillars start feeding on tender leaves and shoots. After pod formation they bore into them and feed on developing grains. Larvae become full-grown in 14 to 15 days. Pupation takes place in earthen cocoons in soil near the plants. Pupal period lasts for about 1 to 4 weeks. A generation is completed in 4 weeks. The pest is active from November to March and hibernates in the pupal stage till next season. Control measures In early stage of attack handpicking of the caterpillars and their destruction, help in reducing the intensity of infestation. Ploughing fields after the harvest of crop would expose the pupae, which would be destroyed by birds. The pest can be successfully controlled by spraying the crop with 0.05% quinalphos or fenitrohion. Spray with HaNPV @ 250 LE/ha. 2. Cut worm Agrotis ypsilon R. Family: -Noctudiae Order: - Lepidoptera Economic Importance The cutworms are cosmopolitan insects and have been reported to occur throughout the country and particularly serious in low lying areas which remain water logged for considerable injury is done by Agrotis ypsilon to potato crop in India. The damage to the crop varies from 12 to 35%. Marks of Identification Moth is medium sized (22-26mm longer), stout with grayish brown wavy lines and sports on fore wings and creamy white wings. The moths are active at dusk and are attracted by light. Full-grown caterpillars are 40-48mm long dirty black in colour and have habit of coiling at slightest touch. Nature of damage The caterpillars hide during the day in cracks and crevices in the soil or in debris around the plants and feed on tender leaves of shoots during night by cutting them near the ground level. The destruction is much more than actual feeding. Life history A female lays 300-350 eggs (maximum 1800) in 10-15 clusters of 20-35 eggs on ventral leaf surface or moist soil. The incubation period is 4-7 days. Larval period lasts for about 3-5 weeks pupation takes place in the soil and moths emerge from pupae in 11-18 days. A generation is completed in 5-9 weeks. Host plants It is a polyphagous insect and feeds on potato, pulses, barley, oats, tobacco, peas, gram, cotton, tomato, lucerne, chilies, brinjal and other vegetables. Control measures Heaps of green grasses may be kept at suitable interval in infested field during evening and next day early in the morning alongwith caterpillars to destroy. Clean cultivation and mechanical destruction of caterpillars also help in reducing pest infestation. Irrigation also brings them on the surface and birds shall predate them. 5% Carbaryl poison bait at the rate of 25-60kg/ha controls the pest effectively and Soil application of chlordane or Heptachlor dust at the rate of 50kg/ha found effective against the pest.

Fruit borer in Brinjal

TNAU Agritech Portal :: Crop Protection

Shoot and fruit borer: Leucinodes orbonalis
Symptoms of damage Withering of terminal shoots/ dead hearts Bore holes on shoots  and fruits plugged with excreta Shedding of flower buds Withering and drying of leaves

Identification of pest

• Eggs  -  Creamy white eggs
• Larva -  pink in colour
• Pupa- greyish boat shaped cocoon
• Adult-   a medium  sized moth
• Forewings- having black and brown patches and dots on white colour
• Hind wings – opalescent with black dots

Management

Remove the affected terminal shoot showing boreholes. Remove the affected fruits and destroy. Avoid continuous cropping of brinjal crop Grow the varieties with long and narrow fruits in endemic areas Install pheromone trap@12/ha Encourage the activity of larval parasitoids: Pristomerus testaceus Cremastus flavoorbitalis Avoid use of synthetic pyrethroids Avoid using insecticides at the time of fruit maturation and harvest Neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) 5 % or any one of the following chemicals starting from one month after planting at 15 days interval

Insecticide Dose Azadirachtin 1.0% EC (10000 ppm) 3.0  ml/lit. Azadirachtin 0.03 % WSP (300 ppm) 5.0  g/lit. Chlorpyrifos 20 % EC 1.0  ml/lit. Dimethoate 30 % EC 7.0  ml/10 lit. Emamectin benzoate 5 % SG 4 g/10 lit. Flubendiamide 20 WDG 7.5 g/10 lit. Phosalone 35 % EC 1.5  ml/lit. Quinalphos 25 % EC 1.5 ml/lit. Thiodicarb 75 % WP 2.0 g/lit. Thiometon 25 % EC 1.0 ml/lit. Trichlorofon 50 % EC 1.0 ml/lit. Triazophos 40 % EC 2.5 ml/lit.

Turmeric Poster

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Date: Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 7:52 PM
Subject: Turmeric Poster
To: bapujiarcot@gmail.com


hi

http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/06/stories/2010030664831400.htm

Bt cotton ineffective against pest in parts of Gujarat, admits Monsanto Priscilla Jebaraj

Firm asks farmers to switch to its second-generation product to delay resistance further

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Pink bollworm resistant to pest-killing protein of Bt cotton in four districts

Monsanto's advice ridiculous, say scientists

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NEW DELHI: For the first time anywhere in the world, biotech agriculture giant Monsanto has admitted that insects have developed resistance to its Bt cotton crop. Field monitoring in parts of Gujarat has discovered that the Bt crop is no longer effective against the pink bollworm pest.

The company is advocating that Indian farmers switch to its second-generation product to delay resistance further. Monsanto's critics say that this just proves the ineffectiveness of the Bt technology, which was recently sought to be introduced in India in Bt brinjal as well.

In November 2009, Monsanto's scientists detected unusual survival of the pink bollworm pest while monitoring the Bt cotton crop in Gujarat. In January and February, samples taken from the field were tested in Monsanto's laboratories. It has been confirmed that pink bollworm is now resistant to the pest-killing protein of Bt cotton in four districts — Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagarh and Rajkot.

Until now, Monsanto held that “there have been no confirmed cases of poor field performance of Bt cotton or Bt corn attributable to insect resistance.” Although there have been cases of insects resisting the technology in the laboratory, Monsanto held that “field resistance is the criterion of relevance to agricultural producers.”

Now that the company itself has admitted that its product has been proved ineffective against some insects on the fields of Gujarat, its advice to farmers is to start using its second generation product instead. “Farmers have another choice. We have a two-gene product called Bollgard II which has greater ability to delay resistance,” says Monsanto India's Director of Scientific Affairs Rashmi Nair. She also recommends that farmers conduct better monitoring and plant “refuges,” or areas of non-Bt crop which would attract insects.

Agricultural scientists and activists say Monsanto's advice is “ridiculous”. The Bollgard II has no additional toxin to combat pink bollworm, says G.V. Ramanjaneyulu of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture. It is simply that as a newer product, Bollgard II will take longer for the pest to develop resistance. Anyway, the Bt toxin is active only for 90 days, while pink bollworm is a late season pest, he adds.

“All the hype about the effectiveness of Bt against pests is bogus …This proves that you can't stay ahead of the pest with … this shortsighted approach,” says Kavitha Kuruganti of the Kheti Virasat Mission. Indian farmers with small holdings cannot be expected to give up large parts of their land for non- productive “refuges,” added Dr. Ramanjaneyulu.

Monsanto's Dr. Nair says the Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) was informed of the resistance “eight to ten days ago.” The CICR, which has been collaborating in the field monitoring of Bt cotton since 2003, has reported this to the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), she said. However, the Ministry of Environment and Forests seemed to have been unaware of the test results until Monsanto issued a statement on Friday.Over the last month, the GEAC and the Ministry have been at the centre of a storm regarding the government's moratorium on commercial release of Bt brinjal.

Critics are now pointing to the ineffectiveness of Bt cotton in Gujarat to strengthen their case against Bt brinjal as well.

Switching to forefathers’ methods to cut down expense on inputs-M.J. PRABU

Hundreds of cultivable areas are turning into residential plots

cost effective: Namalwar demonstrating the manufacture of herbal tea for crops

“There is a popular adage in English, “give a man a fish he lives for a day, teach him to fish he lives for a lifetime,” This is exactly what our farmers need today.

“Instead of buying external inputs such as seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, they should learn to make and use their own bio pest repellents, and plant growth promoters,” says Dr. G. Namalwar, organic scientist from Tamil Nadu.

If one studies the agricultural scenario of the past 40 years, one observes that hundreds of cultivable areas are turning into residential plots.

Why is this happening in a country with more than 1,500 years of agricultural heritage?

Wrong focus

The answer is simple. The Green Revolution focused more on increased inputs and yields and totally ignored the local and traditional knowledge systems of the farmers.

As a result, in 40 years we lost our native seed varieties, our lands became barren, native birds and insects which helped the crops grow well vanished, water tables started depleting, cross breeding of hybrid cows made several native breeds extinct and there has been more migration towards cities due to unemployment in rural areas.

Not remunerative

Today there is a general view that farming is not remunerative and that a farmer cannot cultivate unless he obtains loans.

“It is true that farming is not lucrative as long as a farmer uses external inputs for growing his crops. On the other hand if he switches to sustainable agriculture as was done by his forefathers then he can definitely cut down a major expense on his input,” he emphasises.

Friendly farming

Hundreds of farmers have realised this truth and have switched over to more environmental friendly farming systems and are reaping good results.

Farmers just need to look around their own fields or village for making any bio inputs.

All the necessary inputs required for their farm are there and there is no need for them to go to the towns and buy, according to Dr. Namalwar. He says that, for example, for making a plant growth stimulant labelled as herbal tea, take an iron, plastic or cement tank and fill it with water (3/4 full).

Take 5 kg of cow dung and any medicinal plant leaves (such as neem, nochi, custard apple leaves), one-fourth kg jaggery and one big stone or brick.

Place all the above mentioned items inside a jute sack, tie the mouth of the sack tightly with a rope and immerse it inside the water.

Leave the other end of the rope free. Shake the sack, holding the free end of the rope two times everyday in such a way that the contents inside the sack mix well with the water (similar to the tea bags immersed in milk).

One week time

In one week the ‘herbal tea’ for the crop is ready for use. It can be either poured directly near the root zone of the crops or sprayed. For one litre dilute in nine litres of water and use.

Amudha Karaisal

Similarly take 1 kg of fresh cow dung, urine and Ipomoea Cornea (Tamil name Neiveli Kattamanakku) leaves each and 25 gm of jaggery. Mix all these well in 10 litres of water and stir well (3 times a day). In 24 hours the solution (Amudha Karaisal, AK) is ready. For use, dilute one litre of AK in 10 litres of water and spray or mix with irrigating water.

But how far are these local systems beneficial in the long run?

“These traditional systems have existed for hundreds of years and only for the past 4-5 decades have they disappeared.

Realised importance

But today our farmers have realised the importance of going back to these systems as they are pocket friendly and effective,” he opines.

Though we have policies which speak out in support of the farmer, sadly they are only on paper and not put in action.

“A farmer must realize that he alone is responsible and answerable for his yield. These systems may look insignificant but their results are proven and have been found effective by a number of farmers,” he says.

For more information readers can contact Dr. G. Namalwar through email: sadhguru@gmail.com and mobile: 94425-31699.

Shoot and fruit borer in brinjal

BRINJAL IS prone to attack bythe brinjal fruit and shoot borer, Luecinodes arbonalis.

During the early stages of the crop the larva bores into the shoots resulting in drying and dropping of shoots. On reproduction, the larva bores into the flower buds and fruits and plugs the entrances with excreta.

Control measures

— Collect and destroy the affected fruits and shoots.

— Avoid monocropping and crop rotation with potato.

— Use optimum dose of Nitrogen fertilizers

— Three soil applications of neem cake at 2.5 q ha at the time of transplanting, 1 and 2 months after transplanting.

— Application of neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) 5 per cent.

— Three sprays of insecticides like profenophos 50EC (2ml/l) or thiodiocarb 75 WP (lg/l) or carbaryl 50 WP (2g/l) or malathion 50 EC (2ml/l) during flowering stages at 15 days interval is advised.

S.S. Karabhantanal Anand Hallikeri
& S. Doddagowdar

University of
Agricultural Sciences
Dharwad

Managing mealy bug menace in custard apple

Custard apple is mainly used as a dessert fruit. Developing fruits are often infested by two species of mealy bugs mainly the striped mealy bug and citrus mealy bug. These mealy bugs are small, pink coloured and soft bodied insects covered with white mealy wax. Nymphs and adults fix their mouth at fissures and furrows of rounded fleshy tubercles of the green fruits. When they infest developing fruits and suck the sap the size of the fruit becomes diminished, shrivelled and undergo premature dropping. These mealy bugs also infest at fruit stalks, leaves and terminal shoots causing, yellowing and drying symptoms.

Pest biology

The pest prefers dry weather and heavy incidence often occurs following periods of prolonged drought. They are active and mobile throughout their life. Reproduction is both sexual and through parthenogenesis, the latter being more common. Females lay 100-300 eggs which hatch into nymphs in 3-4 days. The nymph’s period is around 45 days. The longevity of males is 1 to 3 days while that of females extends from 36 to 53 days.

Management methods

To check the infestation of these pests, remove and destroy the affected leaves, fruits and twigs. Apply diazinon or monocrotophos at 0.1 per cent concentration. Spraying of 5 per cent neem seed kernel extract or 3 per cent neem oil suspension is effective. The soil around trees should be ploughed up to a depth of 75 cm followed by mixing of dust formulation of insecticides such as lindane 1.3 per cent or endosulfan 4 per cent at 10 kg/ acre could be done.

A number of parasites are parasitizing the mealy bugs in nature as biological control agents. Release of Cryptoleamus montrouzieri (ladybird beetle) @ 10 Nos./ tree would be quite effective to predate upon the eggs and nymphs of the mealy bugs.

J. JAYARAJ

& M. ANANTHAN

Horticultural Research Station

Thadiyankudisai, Perumparai, Dindigul

Tamil Nadu