IPM Packages for Crops

insect pests

Black cutworm [ Agrotis ipsilon (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)] Black cutworm is polyphagous and spread around the globe. The larvae feed on the leaves, stems, and roots of the plant. The older larvae cut the plant above the root zone. Weeds in and around the crop are major oviposition sites. The sporadic nature of cutworm populations makes preventive treatments futile. One way to control cutworm is to broadcast a poison bait prepared with wheat bran, cotton, or groundnut cake, and moistened with water. Natural enemies recorded include parasit- oids Trichogramma spp. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), Apanteles margin- iventris, Bracon kitcheneri, Microgas- ter spp., Microplitis sp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Campoletis flavicincta , Hyposoter annulipes , and Ophion flavidus (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), tachinid flies (Diptera: Tachinidae), and predators Broscus punctatus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and Liogryllus bimaculatus (‎ Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Entomopathogenic fungus ( Metarhizium sp.), nematode ( Steinernema carpocapsae ), and nuclear polyhedrosis viruses are effective in managing this pest Armyworm [ Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctu- idae)] This pest is widely distributed through- out the tropics and subtropics. This is a polyphagous pest. The larvae primarily feed at night and hide during the day and bury themselves into the soil for pupation. Pheromone traps are available for this pest. Release of egg parasitoids, Trichogramma spp. and Telenomus remus , can help con- trol armyworms and other caterpillar pests.

Aphids [ Aphis craccivora and Acyrthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera: Aphididae)] Aphids feed on several grain legumes. The action threshold is 1-2 aphids per leaf and 9-13 aphids per sweep. They suck the sap and colonize in large numbers and secrete honeydew. They cause sooty mold on the plants and also vector several viruses. Aphis craccivora is a vector of various virus diseases of chickpea, such as Alfalfa mosaic virus, Cucumber mosaic virus , and Bean yellow mosaic virus. Aphids usually infest chickpea at the podding stage, but if they infest at an early stage, then control is necessary. Natural enemies recorded are predators, including Coccinella septem- punctata , C. transversalis, Cheilomenes sexmaculata , Menochilus sexmaculatus, Brumus suturalis (Coleoptera: Cocci- nellidae), chrysopids Chrysoperla spp. (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), and parasitoids Trioxys indicus and Lipolexis scutellaris (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Yellow sticky traps are useful for monitoring aphids. Green stink bug [ Nezara viridula (Hemiptera: Pentatomi- dae)] Green stink bug is a polyphagous pest that sucks the sap from leaves, stems, and pods, and thus causes malformation and drying of plants. It causes heavy damage during the reproductive stage of the plant. Early planting, close spacing, and trap crops are used to manage this pest. The parasitoid Trissolcus basalis ( Hy- menoptera: Platygastridae ) is known to attack eggs of stink bugs. Entomopatho- genic fungi, B. bassiana, M. anisopilae , and Paecilomyces lilacinus can manage this pest.

INSECT PESTS

Pod borer [ Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)] Helicoverpa armigera is a major issue in Asia, Africa, and Australia. The larvae cause damage to the leaves with young instars scraping the surface of leaflets and feeding on flowers, while older larvae feed on foliage and are more damaging to pods. The adults are active at night and lay hun- dreds of eggs individually on the underside of leaflets. The last instar drops to the soil to pupate. Pheromone traps are avail- able for adult H. armigera monitoring and population peak prediction. Natural ene- mies include H. armigera nucleopolyhe- drosis virus (HaNPV), Trichogramma chil- onis (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), Telenomus sp. (Hymenoptera: Platygastri- dae), Microplitis demolitor, Apanteles spp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Campoletis chlorideae, Netelia producta, Heteropelma scapoisum, Lissopimpla excels, Diadeg- ma fenestralis, Charops bicolor (Hyme- noptera: Ichneumonidae), and predators Chrysopa spp., Chrysoperla spp. (Neurop- tera: Chrysopidae), Nabis spp. (Hemiptera: Nabidae), Geocoris spp. (Hemiptera: Geocoridae), Orius spp. (Hemiptera: An- thocoridae), Polistes spp. (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), Drino sp., Goniophthalmus hal- li, Linnaemya cf. longirostris , Pimelimyia sp. (Diptera: Tachinidae). Entomopatho- genic fungi including Beauveria bassiana , Metarhizium anisopilae , and Metarhizium rileyi , bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis , and the virus HaNPV can manage pod borers.

Pod borer and Ascochyta blight damage