Shootfly: Atherigona varia soccata
Symptom of damage:
- The maggot bores inside the stem and cuts the growing point
- Central shoots dried and produce “dead heart” symptom
- The infested plant produces side tillers
Identification of the pest:
- Egg: White, cylindrical, distal somewhat flattened
- Adult: Whitish grey fly
Management:
ETL: 1 egg/plant in 10% of plants in the first two weeks of sowing or 10% dead hearts
- Take up early sowing of sorghum immediately after the receipt of South West or North East monsoon to minimise the shoot fly incidence.
- Use seeds pelleted with insecticides
- Seed treatment with imidacloprid 70 WS @ 10 g/kg of seeds. In case of direct seeding, use increased seed rate up to 12.5 kg/per hectare and remove the shoot fly damaged seedlings at the time of thinning or raise nursery and transplant only healthy seedlings.
- Plough soon after harvest, remove and destroy the stubbles.
- Set up the TNAU low-cost fishmeal trap @ 12/ha till the crop is 30 days old.
- Spray one of the followings for an area of 120 m2 nursery
- Methyl demeton 25 EC 12 ml/ha
- Dimethoate 30 EC 12 ml/ha
- In the main field for direct sown crop spray any one of the followings
- Methyl demeton 25 EC 500 ml/ha
- Dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml/ha
- Neem Seed Kernel Extract 5%
- Soil application of phorate 10 G 18 kg/ha or carbofuran @ 33.3 kg/ha at the time of sowing
Source-
- TNAU Agritech Portal
