Fruit borer: Congethes (=Dichocrocis) punctiferalis
Symptoms of damage:
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Caterpillar bores into young fruits
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Feeds on internal contents (pulp and seeds)
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Dry up and fall off in without ripening
Identification of pest:
- Larva – Pale greenish with pink tinge and fine hairs with dark head
- Adult – Yellowish moth with black spots on the wing and body.
Management:
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Collect and destroy damaged fruits
- Clean cultivation as weed plants serve as alternate hosts
- Use light trap @ 1/ ha to monitor the activity of adults
- Insecticides: Malathion 50 EC 0.1% two rounds, one at flower formation and next at fruit set.
Source-
- TamilNadu Agritech Portal
