Tobacco cutworm: Spodoptera litura
Symptoms of damage:
- Newly hatched larvae scrap the green matter in the leaf
- Affected leaf looks like a papery white structure
- Later instar larvae feed by making small holes
- In severe infestations they feed voraciously on the entire lamina and petiole
Identification of pest:
- Egg: Eggs are golden yellow, laid in masses and covered by silky hairs.
- Larva: Are seen in groups, young caterpillars are light green with black head or black spots
- Adult: Are brown in colour. Forewings are the brown colour with wavy white markings, hind wings are the white colour with a brown patch along the margin.
Management:
- Plough the soil to expose and kill pupae
- Castor as a trap crop
- Set up pheromone trap @15/ha
- Collect and destroy the egg masses, gregarious larvae and grown up caterpillars
- Spray SINPV @ 1.5×1012 POB/ha in evening hour
- Spray any one of the following insecticides
| Insecticide | Dose |
| Emamectin benzoate 5 % SG | 4 g/10 lit. |
| Flubendiamide 20 WDG | 6.0 g /10 lit. |
| Indoxacarb 14.5 % SC | 6.5 ml/10 lit. |
| Novaluron 10 % EC | 7.5 ml/10 lit. |
| Spinosad 45 % SC | 3.2 ml/10 lit. |
| Thiodicarb 75 % WP | 2.0 g/lit. |
Source-
- TamilNadu Agritech Portal
