Management of tobacco caterpillar Spodoptera litura (Fab.

) in soybean
M. Punithavalli1 and M. Balaji Rajkumar2
2

Scientist, Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu Scientist, Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh is a leading producer of soybean in India. Major soybean growing districts are Indore, Dewas, Ujjain, Dhar, Shajapur, Khandwa and Khargone. It is an ideal crop for small and marginal farmers, but attack of tabacco caterpillar Spodoptera litura poses a severe threat to soybean production. Recently, there was an outbreak of S. litura on soybean in Kota region of Rajasthan and the loss was estimated as Rs 300 crore. The pest also struck in epidemic form on soybean in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra during August 2008 and caused widespread losses (Dhaliwal and Koul, 2010). Nature of damage The larvae attacks the crop normally in the month of August and September during late vegetative and early reproductive stages of the crop. The newly hatched larva, scrap the chlorophyll content and feed voraciously. This gives the appearance of yellowish white web on the leaves. As the caterpillar matures, they completely defoliate the leaves leaving only midribs and stalks. Larval feeding is vigorous as it advances in age. The soft pods are chewed by the larvae and the thick pods are bored and feed on grain. The habit of larvae is to hide under the plants, cracks and crevices of soil debris during the day time and feeds during night hours. The incidence could be noticed by the fecal pellets left on the leaves. Life cycle of S. litura Adult moth is stout with wavy white markings on the brown forewings and white hind wings with a brown patch along its margin. Eggs are laid in groups and covered with hairs and found on the leaves. The incubation period is 4-5 days. Larva is stout, cylindrical, pale brownish with dark markings. The body may have row of dark spots or transverse and longitudinal grey and yellow bands. When fully grown, measures about 35-40 mm in length. The larval period is 14-21 days. It pupates in soil in an earthen cell for 15 days. Life cycle is completed 30-40 days. Tobacco caterpillar management practices Cultural control Deep ploughing is required during summer months to expose the pupae. Avoid pre-monsoon sowing

Sowing tolerant varieties viz., JS 80-21, PK 42 and PS 564 Use optimum seed rate 70-100 kg / ha

Mechanical control Collect and destroy infested plant parts, egg masses and early stage larvae found in clusters. Install one light trap (200 W mercury vapour lamp) / ha in the field to catch the S. litura adults. Install pheromone traps @ 10 -12 Nos/ha at a distance of 50 m interval for early detection / mass trapping of S. litura. Erection of bird perches @ 10-12 Nos/ha

Biological control Release egg parasitoid Telenomus remus @ 50,000/ha Spray SNPV@ 250 LE Spray NSKE @ 5% to manage early stage larvae

Chemical control Apply methomyl @ 2 l/ha, Ethofenprox 10 EC @ 1l/ha, Triazophos 40 EC @ 625 ml/ha, Quinolphos 25 EC 1.5l / ha and Lamda-cyclothrin 50 EC @ 300 ml/ha for controlling tabacco caterpillars.

Integrated pest management of rice leaffolder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guen.)

M. Punithavalli1 and M. Balaji Rajkumar2
2

Scientist, Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu Scientist, Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh