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 brown colour with wavy white markings, hind wings are 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 @ 1.5x1012 POB/ha in evening hour
• Spray any one of the following insecticides