COTTON

Plant Protection

Boll worm (Helicoverpa armigera)

• Take up summer ploughing to destroy the resting stages of insects in the soil.
• Adopt optimum spacing and proper plant density .
• Hand pick the grown up larvae during morning and evening hours.
• Install pheromone traps @ 5/ac to attract and kill the male moths.
• Apply HaNPV @ 1.2x 1012 POB/ac in evening hours at 7th and 12th week after sowing.
• Release Thichogramma chilonis @ 1.0 cc/acre thrice at 45, 60 and 75 days after sowing.
• Release the predator, Chrysoperla zastrowi sillemi @ 40,000/ ac.
• Spray neem oil 3% or neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) 5% or commercial Bt formulation @ 0.6 litre / ac during morning and evening hours.
• Sow marigold as trap crop along the field borders.
• Erect bird perches @ 4/acre to encourage the predatory birds.

• Do summer ploughing to destroy the resting stages of insects in the soil.
• Raise castor as trap crop along the borders to attract the adults for egg laying.
• Collect and destroy egg masses of insects.
• Hand pick and kill the grown up caterpillars.
• Place pheromone traps @ 5/ac to attract and kill the male moths .
• Release Thichogramma chilonis @ 1.0 cc/acre thrice at 45, 60 and 75 days after sowing.
• Erect bird perches @ 4 /ac to encourage the predatory birds.
• Spray SlNPV @ 200 LE /ac to target the young larvae .
• Spray neem oil 3% or NSKE 5% or commercial Bt formulations @ 600 ml/ac during morning and evening hours when the pest incidence starts.

• Adopt synchronized sowing to reduce the pink bollworm incidence
• Install pink boll worm pheromone traps @ 5/ac to attract and kill the male moths
• Release the egg parasitoid, Trichogramma chilonis @ 40,000/ac
• Spray neem oil 3% or neem seed kernel extract 5%.

• Adopt optimum spacing and proper crop density.
• Apply neem cake @ 100 kg / ac basally .
• Drench the collar region of stem with neem oil 3% thrice at 10 days intervals from 30 days after sowing
• Collect and destroy cotton stubbles immediately after harvest.

• Grow resistant varieties like KC2, KC 3, CO 14, SVPR 5, SVPR 6.
• Grow cowpea as bund crop to encourage predators such as coccinellids, syrphids etc.
• Grow maize as border crop .
• Release Chrysoperla zastrowi sillemi @ 200-400 adults /acre between 20-25 days of crop growth depending on the intensity of hopper damage.
• Spray neem oil 3% or NSPE 5% or fish oil rosin soap @ 2.5%- or notchi leaf extract 5% or Beauveria bassiana 1.15%WP @ 160 g/acre.