Bark eating caterpillars: Indarbella sp.
Symptoms of damage:
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Young trees may succumb to the attack.
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Caterpillars bore into the trunk or junction of branches.
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The presence of gallery made out of silk and frass.
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Caterpillars remain hidden in the tunnel during daytime come out at night and feed on the bark.
Identification of pest:
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The adult is stout yellowish –brown moth with brown wavy markings on the forewings.
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Males are smaller than the females.
Management:
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Remove and destroy dead and severely affected branches of the tree
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Remove alternate host, silk cotton and other hosts
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Swab Coal tar + Kerosene @ 1:2 or Carbaryl 50 WP 20 g / lit of water on the basal portion of the trunk up to 3 feet height
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Scraping the loose bark to prevent oviposition by adult beetles.
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Padding with monocrotophos 36 WSC 10 ml in 2.5 cm /tree soaked in absorbent cotton.
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If infestations are severe then apply the copper oxychloride paste on the trunk of the tree.
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Hook out the grub from the bore hole
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After applying monocrotophos 36 WSC 10 to 20 ml/ hole
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Apply carbofuran 3G 5 g per hole and plug with mud.
Source-
- TamilNadu Agritech Portal
