sunflower
by: Kanika SohaneyPosted on:

Pests of Sunflower

Major pests of Sunflower are:-

1.Capitulum borer (Head borer): Helicoverpa armigera

head borer

Symptoms of damage:

  • The larva feeds on the developing seeds and bore the head.
  • Fungal developed and head starts rotting.
  • The larva consumes leaf in the early stage of growth and moves towards the capitulum and tunnel the head.

Identification of the pest:

  • Egg:  Spherical in shape and creamy white in colour, laid singly
  • Larva: Shows colour variation from greenish to brown. It has dark brown-grey lines on the body with lateral white lines and also has dark and pale bands
  • Pupa: Brown in colour, occurs in soil, leaf, pod and crop debris
  • Adult: Light pale brownish yellow stout moth. Forewings are olive green to pale brown with a dark brown circular spot in the centre. Hind wings are pale smoky white with a broad blackish outer margin.

Management:

  • Grow intercrops like green gram, black gram, groundnut, soybean
  • Sow 3-4 lines of maize (or) jowar around the sunflower crop to monitor the moth
  • Sow trap crops like marigold at 50 plants/acre
  • Use of pheromone traps (4 traps/acre) for pest intensity identification as well as to trap the male moths
  • Setting of light traps (1 light trap/5 acre) to know the range of pest incidence as well as to kill moth population
  • Release predators like coccinellids, Chrysoperla carnea @1larva/ head
  • Release parasitoides like Trichogramma spp.@ 20,000/acre,  (Bracon spp., Campoletis spp)
  • Spray HaNPV 250 LE + Bt @0.5kg/ha for effective control
  • Spray HaNPV 250 LE/ha +1 kg Jaggery + 200ml Sandovit (or) Teepal; mixing and spray in the evening hours only
  • Spraying of 5% Neem oil or 5% Neem Seed Kernal extract before egg laying.

 

2.Bihar hairy caterpillar: Spilosoma obliqua

bihar hairy caterpillar

Symptoms of damage:

  • Young larvae feed gregariously mostly on the under surface of the leaves
  • Caterpillars feed on leaves and in severe infestation the whole crop is defoliated
  • Drying up of infected leaves is the main symptom.

Identification of the pest:

  • Egg: Laid in cluster on the underside of leaves
  • Larva: Covered with long yellowish to black hairs
  • Adult: Medium sized brown moth with a red abdomen. Wings pinkish with numerous black spots

Management:

  • Deep summer ploughing
  • Use of well rotten manures
  • Intercropping with pigeon pea at a row ratio of 2:1 is effective in reducing the insect attack
  • Collection and destruction of larvae
  • Spray phosalone 35 EC at 1000ml/ha

 

3.Tobacco caterpillar: Spodoptera litura

Symptoms of damage:

  • The larvae feed on the tender leaves, shoots, bracts and petals
  • Later, the larvae spread in the field causing defoliation
  • The larvae also feeds on the developing seeds in capitulum

Identification of the pest:

  • Egg: Egg masses appear golden brown
  • Larva: Pale greenish with dark markings, gregarious in the early stages
  • Adult: Forewings are brown colour with wavy white marking. Hind wings are white in colour with a brown patch along the margin

Management:

  • Hand pick the Helicoverpa larvae and destroy
  • Spray any of the following insecticides
    • Dichlorvos 76 EC 500 ml/ha
    • Phosalone 35 EC 1000 ml/ha
    • Phosalone 4 D 25 kg/ha
  • Insecticidal application at the time of bee visit is toxic to honey bees. So, apply the insecticides after 4 pm when the bee activity is minimum.
  • Do not spray insecticides on the same day when NAA is sprayed.

 

4.Leaf hopper (jassids): Amrasca biguttula biguttula

jassids

Symptoms of damage:

  • The adult and nymphs suck the plant sap
  • The infected leaves show pale yellow colouration
  • In case of heavy infestation the leaves turn inwards
  • The leaf edges may turn light pinkish brown

Identification of the pest:

  • Nymphs: Pale greenish almost translucent and walk diagonally
  • Adults: Greenish yellow, wedge-shaped with a pair of black spots on vertex and a black spot on each of the forewings

Management:

  • Treat seed with imidacloprid 70 WS at 7 g/kg protected the sunflower plants from leafhopper up to 7 weeks
  • Spray Imidacloprid 70% WS 490 ml/ha or Imidacloprid 17.8% SL 100 ml/ha

 

5.Parakeet: Psittacula krameri

parakeet

Symptoms of damage:

  • The bird’s damage starts from the milky stage and continues till harvest
  • These consume on an average of 152 seeds/day

Identification of the pest:

  • It is slim, green parakeet with the typical short, heavy, deeply hooked, red bill. Hollow space in a tree trunk is the nest of the bid.

Management:

  • Establishment of scarecrows in the field so as to distract the birds
  • Bursting of crackers and carbide guns, tying polythene bags
  • Use of bird scaring tape (reflective ribbon or bird scaring ribbon)
  • Using bio-acoustic method like pre-recorded distress calls to distract the birds.
  • Destruction of birds nest in and around the field
  • Deploy two labourers per hectare to scare away the birds
  • Pruning of perching and breeding places
  • Spraying of neem kernel powder solution at 10 g/litre of water after seed shedding repels the birds
  • Use of bird proof nets.

 

Source-

  • TamilNadu Agritech Portal
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