Symptoms of damage:
- Young larvae feed gregariously mostly on the under surface of the leaves
- A caterpillar of later stages defoliates the field completely
Identification of the pest:
- Egg: Laid in clusters of 50-100 on the lower side of leaves
- Larvae: Orange coloured with broad transverse band with tufts of yellow hairs that are dark at both ends
- Pupa: Forms a thin silken cocoon by interwoven shed hairs of the larvae
- Adult: Crimson coloured moth with black dots and a red abdomen. Wings are pinkish with numerous black spots
Management:
- Collection and destruction of eggs and early stage larvae
- Spray NSKE 5% to kill early stage larvae
- If grownup larvae are seen, spray quinalphos, chlorpyriphos @ 2ml/litre of water
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