finger millet
by: Kanika SohaneyPosted on:

Pests of Finger Millet

Pests of Finger Millet are:-

1.Pink stem borer

pink stem borer

Symptom of damage:

  • Pink larva enters into the stem and causes dead heart symptom

Identification of the pest:

  • 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.
  • Pupa: Brown, obtect pupa, pupates inside the stem.
  • Adult: Straw coloured moth with forewings having three black spots and a faint brown mid-stripe with white hindwings.

Management:

  • Spray phorate 10% CG @ 1 l/ha at every 20 days interval after germination

 

2.Earhead bug

ear head bug

Symptoms of damage:

  • Nymphs and adult suck the juice from within the grains when they are in the milky stage.
  • Grains shrink and turn black in colour and ill filled (or) chaffy.
  • The presence of a large number of nymphs and adults are seen on the ear head.

Identification of the pest:

  • Egg: Blue cigar shaped, laid under the glumes or into the middle of the florets
  • Nymphs: Slender, green in colour
  • Adults: Male is green in colour. Female is green with a brown margin

Management:

  • Spray carbaryl 50 WP @ 1.0 kg/ha at milky stage

 

3.Aphids

alphid

Symptoms of damage:

  • Yellowing of leaves
  • Aphid Colonies present on the central leaf whorl and ears
  • Presence of ants

Identification of the pest:

  • Nymph: Are round in shape with reddish brown in colour
  • Adult: Yellow with dark green legs

Management:

  • Spray any one of the following insecticides mixed in 10 litres of water using a high volume sprayer if dusting is not done:
    • Methyl demeton 25 EC 20 ml/ha
    • Dimethoate 30 EC 20 ml/ha

4.Root aphid

Root alphid

Symptoms of damage:

  • Infested plants turn pale yellow and become stunted.
  • Wilting and drying of plants in patches
  • Black ants attend them for honeydew, and their presence confirm the root aphid attack

Identification of the pest:

  • Adult: Pinkish and globular

Management:

  • Spray carbaryl 50 WP@ 1 kg/ha (500 l spray fluid/ha)

5.Cutworm

cutworm

Symptom of damage:

  • Defoliation in the nursery

Identification of the pest:

  • Egg: Lays cluster of reddish-brown eggs on the lower portion of young plants
  • Larva: Brownish green with wavy lines in dorsal surface and lateral yellow stripes
  • Pupa: Pupates in the soil in earthen cocoons
  • Adult: Brown moth with white hindwings

Management:

  • Remove weeds and stubbles after harvesting
  • Avoid green manure and apply FYM to prevent cutworm egg laying
  • Spray carbaryl 50 WP @2.5 kg/ha or quinalphos 20 EC@2 lit/ha or phoshalone 35 EC @1.25 lit/ha
  • Use Steinernema carpocapsae entomopathogenic nematode or Beauveria bassiana fungi at emergenge of cutworm.
  • Before one week of sowing, apply Bacillus thuringenesis + Rice husk in the main field to control cutworm
  • Release Trichogramma parasitoid weekly once for three weeks continuously to control cutworm eggs

 

6.Grasshopper

grass hopper

Symptoms of damage:

  • Nymph and adult feed on leaves
  • Irregular feeding on leaf blade
  • Cattle grazed appearance is found in severely infested fields

Identification of pest:

  • Egg: Are laid in groups in the soil.  Eggs are either whitish, yellowish green, brownish or dirty brown in colour
  • Nymph: Early instar nymphs are whitish in colour with lines. Nymphal period is 30-50 days.
  • Adult: stout, greenish brown in colour with lines in body

Management:

  • Clean sanitation and ploughing after harvesting
  • Early sowing
  • Summer ploughing
  • Spray carabaryl 50 WP 400 g
  • Spiders feed on the nymph and adult
  • At dry and moist conditions apply Entomophthora grylli to control grasshopper

 

7.Leaf folder

leaf folder

Symptom of damage:

  • Leaves fold longitudinally, and larvae remain inside
  • Larva scrapes the green tissues of the leaves, becomes white and dry
  • During severe infestation, the whole field exhibits scorched appearance

Identification of pest:

  • Egg: Female lays 200 eggs on both the surfaces of leaf, are long with yellowish white in colour
  • Larva: Greenish yellowish in colour with brownish or black head
  • Pupa Are initially brown in colour, later becomes dark brown in colour and are found inside the folded leaf
  • Adult: Whitish yellow or golden yellow in colour, forewings has three black lines

Management:

  • Crop rotation with non-cereal crops
  • Adopt clean practices around the field
  • Avoid closer spacing sowing
  • Collect and destroy affected leaves
  • Spray Chlorpyriphos 2.5 ml or quinalphos 2.5 ml or acephate 1 g or Carbaryl 1 g or Cartap Hydrochloride 2 g/lit at 10 days interval followed by Cartap Hydrochloride 4G 10 kg/ha
  • Spray NSKE 5 % or neem oil 0.5 % or biocontrol agents 300 ppm @1.5 lit/ha or 1500 ppm 1.5 lit/ha
  • Release Trichogramma chilonis 5-6 times @1,00,000/ha 7-10 days interval  
  • Spray Bacillus thuringenesis @1kg or 1 lit/ha at 7-10 days interval in evening hours
  • Set up light trap or pheromone trap
  • Dislodge the cases by passing a rope

 

8.Earhead bug

earhead bug

Symptom of damage:

  • Adults infest the crop at milky stage
  • Feeds on emerging panicle and produces chaffy grains with silky webs
  • Excreta observed in infested panicle

Identification of pest:

  • Egg: Oval, shiny white in colour are fund in group covered with orange hairs
  • Larva: Caterpillars are small with dark brown in colour with yellow bands and minute hairs.
  • Pupa: Pupation takes place in soil
  • Adult: Adults are brownish in colour. Forewings are fibrous and hindwings are yellowish in colour

Management:

  • Practice proper intercropping, sowing period, spacing, irrigation/nutrient management
  • Spray malathion and carbaryl 0.1 %
  • Light traps during daytime will attract the adult moth
  • Pheremone trap @12/ha at flowering stage until panicle stage

9.White stem borer

white stem borer

Symptoms of damage:

  • Larva feeds on root
  • In severe infestations, center shoots dry up and become yellowish
  • Larva are found at lower stem region and causes damage

Identification of pest:

  • Egg: Are found in groups, grey in colour with tuft of hairs. Eggs are similar to that of yellow stem borer.  Female lays eggs on the leaf tip.
  • Larva: Milky white in colour with yellowish head
  • Pupa: Brownish colour pupa are found in bored stem
  • Adult: Dark brownish, forewings has white colour at the margin

Management:

  • Spray carabaryl 50 WP 1kg/ha
  • Spray methyl parathion 50 EC 1ml/lit or phosphomidon 85 ESC 0.5 ml/lit or dimethoate 30 EC 1.7 ml/litre

 

10.Ragi leaf hopper

ragi leaf hopper

Symptoms of damage:

  • Both Nymph and adult suck the sap from leaf and lower stem
  • Leaves become yellow with stunted growth
  • Vector of ragi mosaic virus

Identification of pest:

  • Nymph: Pale green transparent nymph. Walks sideways and nymphal period is 7-9 days
  • Adult: small, brownish, wedge-shaped adult. Adult period 2-3 weeks.

Management:

  • Spray dimethoate 30 EC @1.7 ml/lit or phosphomidon 100 EC 0.5 ml/lit

 

11.Yellow aphid

yellow alphid

Symptoms of damage:

  • Both nymph and adult suck the plant sap
  • Yellowing of leaves with stunted plant growth
  • Plants wilt in patches
  • Aphid secrets honey dew with excreta and allows to attract ants

Identification of pest:

  • Adult: Greenish yellow in colour

Management:

  • Spray methyl demoton 25 EC @ 20 ml/lit or dimethoate 30 EC @ 20 ml/ha with 10 litre of water using high volume sprayer

 

Source-

MLA

“Crop Protection :: Finger Millet – TNAU Agritech Portal.” TamilNadu Agritech Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Jun. 2017 <http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/crop_protection/finger_millet/crop_prot_crop_insectpe>.

APA

Crop Protection :: Finger Millet – TNAU Agritech Portal. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/crop_protection/finger_millet/crop_prot_crop_insectpe

  • TNAU Agritech Portal

 

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