Citrus is an important fruit crop in India. It suffers heavily on account of the serious damage caused by insect pests.There are many pests that can hinder the growth of trees. For the protection of plants, proper identification and management should be adopted.
Major pests of citrus are:-
Integrated management methods:
•Clean cultivation with optimum plant density and good drainage system
•Collateral host plant like guava, sapota and pomegranate for black fly and curry leaf for psylla pest should not be grown near the citrus orchard
•Collection and destruction of various stages of pest both in nursery and orchard
•Prunning of leaf miner infested branches or curled dried leaves by psylla or sooty mould shoots by black flies should be done preferably during winter
•The fallen fruits should be destroyed by burying them deep in the soil
•Generation of smoke in the orchard for 2 hours in the evening repels adult moths of whitefly
•The basin around tree trunk should be earthed up. Sticky band smeared with Mobil oil should be tied around the tree trunk. This will control the attack of mealy bug
•Poison baiting of fruit fly moth with 20 g malathion or 50 ml. diazinon mixed with 200 g gur and some orange juice in 2 litres of water can be placed in a tray with a bulb of 60 watts above the tray
•Release of trichogramma chilonis at 500 adult per tree effectively controls lemon butterfly pest.
•Remove the wooden frass present in between the joints of the tree trunk by bark eating caterpillar and insert a cotton wad soaked in petrol or kerosene at 10 ml/tunnel or inject 5 ml of 0.1 % dichlorvos or 0.02% monocrotophos with a plastic injection syringe. Spraying affected portion with above-mentioned insecticides after clearing the frass and faecal pellets in envisaged to keep the pest under check
•Spary of 4% neem seed kernel extract or 2 ml neem oil/litre of water give effective protection against leaf mine, black fly and scale insect
•Under heavy leaf miner infestation, give alternate spray of
•4% neem seed kernel extract or 2 ml neem oil and cypermethren 25 EC at 0.5 ml/litre of water at fortnightly intervals.
•In severe leaf eating caterpillar infestation spray 1.5 ml dimethoate or 1 ml fenitrothion in 1 litre of water after every 7 days.
•For aphid infestation spray dimethoate 30 EC at 2ml/lit during new flush
•For citrus psylla and leaf miner infestation spray 0.7 ml. Monocrotophos or 0.5 ml dimethoate or 1 ml quinalphos in 1 litre of water. Repeat the spray after 15 days.
•Water stress aggravates the mite problem. Hence the tree should be well irrigated particularly during the stress in late summer. If the mite infestation is severe, spray 1.5 ml dicofol or 3 g wettable sulphur in 1 litre of water. Repeat the spray after 15 days.
•To check snail infestation, prepare poison bait by dissolving 2 kg jaggery, 25 g yeast in 10 litres of water. Add wheat or paddy husk and mix well. Keep for about 10-12 hrs for fermentation. Add 100 g methomyl or 50 g thiomethazion. Snail will be attracted and die after feeding on such poison bait.
Source-
- TamilNadu Agritech Portal
- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Nagaland
