Tuesday, 16 July 2013

Crop Protection :: Pest of paddy


Crop Protection :: Pest of paddy


Banana ; BUNCHY TOP;PANAMA DISEASE; SIGATOKA LEAF SPOT

Banana: Musa paradisica var. sapientum
Family: Musaceae

 
 

1. BUNCHY TOP


The disease was recorded first time in 1879 from Fiji. The disease has also been reported from Egypt, Sri Lanka, Australia, Pacific islands, Malaysia and India. It is believed that the disease has been introduced in India from Sri Lanka through infected suckers. The disease is reported from Kerala in1940 and spread in banana growing neighbouring states like Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Orissa and Assam.
Symptoms: - The disease is transmitted to the plant by the aphid vector Pentalonia nigronervosa and dwarf varieties of banana are very susceptible to the disease. The primary symptoms of the disease are seen when infected banana suckers are planted. The suckers put forth narrow leaves, which are chlorotic and mosaic. The affected leaves are brittle, with dark green patches and margins rolled upwards. The characteristic symptom of bunchy top virus is the presence of dark green streaks along the secondary veins or midrib of petiole. The diseased plants remain stunted and do not produce fruits. The infected plant leaves shows characteristic rosette or bunchy top symptoms. The disease does not kill the plant but once the plant gets infected it does not recover from the disease.
Causal Organism: - The disease is caused by Banana virus I or Musa virus I or Banana bunchy top virus transmitted by the aphid vector Pentalonia nigronervosa.
Disease Cycle: - The virus is found systemically in all parts of the plant including rhizomes and suckers. The first symptom of the disease is appeared after 5-6 weeks of inoculation from insect vector. The vector usually feed at basal portion of pseudostem of host plant but may be found on upper portion of the host plant. The aphids may migrate at long distances. The aphid retains the infective potential for a period of 13 days and transmits the virus to healthy host in a period of 90 minutes.
Disease Management:
  1. Removal of clumps, suckers and diseased plants is very important to stop dissemination of disease.
  2. Planting material should be disease free and not collected from disease prone areas.
  3. The vector (aphid) should be controlled to check spread of the disease by spraying with 0.1-0.5% Metasystox.
  4. The disease affected banana plants should be killed with herbicide (2,4- D or 2, 4, 5 – T). The infected rhizomes dug out and cut into small pieces with further spray of herbicide to check germination, which may harbour the virus.
 

2. PANAMA DISEASE


Fusarium wilt of banana (panama disease) is one of the most devastating diseases of banana in the world. The disease is prevalent in Australia, Coasta Rica, Hawaii, India, Jamaica, Panama, South America, Surinam and West Africa. The disease affects many economically important varieties. The disease has been reported in India from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, and West Bengal states.
Symptoms: - The pathogen attacks banana plants of all ages and spreads mainly through the soil. The pathogen gets entry in the plant body through roots damage caused by the nematodes. The fungus blocks the vascular system and causes wilting. It is most damaging in poorly drained soil. Banana plants affected by fusarium will show yellowing of leaves starting with the oldest leaves. The newly emerged leaf remain green and erect for a long period but later it also shows blotchy and yellowing symptom with wrinkling lamina. Other petioles may remain erect but will soon become yellow then brown and dry. In some cases the outer leaf sheaths of the pseudostem may split longitudinally near soil level. If the pseudostem cut longitudinally, many black or brown coloured streaks can be seen which run upward to leaf bases and all other directions. The cut stem smells like rotten fish. Plants affected by panama will generally not develop sufficiently for a mature bunch to be produced and the disease can cause total crop loss. The disease spread is favoured by warm soil temperature, poor drainage, light soils and high soil moisture. Red or brown dots or streaks are also seen.
Causal Organism: - The pathogen causing wilt or panama disease of banana is Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (E. F. S.) Snyder and Hansen. The fungal hyphae are present inter and intra cellularly in the host tissues. The pathogen fills the cavities of vascular tissues and spread systemically. The fungus produces numerous micro-conidia, macro-conidia and chlamydospores. The sporodochium bears many conidiophores, is arises from pseudo-parenchymatous tissues. The macro-conidia are sickle shaped, hyaline, thin walled, 2-5 septate and measures 24-36 x 4-5 µm and micro-conidia are ovate, single to non septate, hyaline and thin walled which measures 5-7 x 2-3 µm. The chlamydospores are oval or spherical, thick walled, may be paired, measuring 7-12 x 7-8 µm. The pathogen has several races which are reported from many countries.
Disease Cycle: - Light textured loam and sandy loam soils which are acidic favours the disease development. The pathogen is soil borne and invades the plant through injured roots and rhizomes. The mycelium of the pathogen colonized the vascular bundles of host plant and produces micro-conidia, macro-conidia and chlamydospores. The chlamydopores survive in the soil for a long time. The pathogen can also survive in disease rhizomes and other plant parts saprophytically and become active when conditions are favourable and infection takes place. The pathogen spreads through suckers from disease infested area to other areas. The pathogen can survive in the soil more than twenty years.
Disease Management:
  1. Highly infected soil should not be replanted with banana at least for 4-5 years.
  2. Flooding of wilt affected areas for six months has been reported to give satisfactory results.
  3. Use the healthy planting material, removal of infected plants at first sight and avoidance of root injury through intercultural operations helps in reducing the disease incidence.
  4. Use of disease resistant cultivars is recommended.
  5. Growing of paddy followed by banana for 3-5 years once or twice, use of quick lime near the base of the plant and soaking with water and avoiding sunflower or sugarcane in crop rotation helps to reduce the disease incidence.
  6. Application of bioagents, such as, Trichoderma viride or Pseudomonas fluorescence in the soil is effective. Application of the capsule filled with P. fluorescence at 60 mg/capsule is recommended at 2, 4 and 6 months after planting.
  7. The modified Panchagavya mixture at 101 dilution should be applied (soil drenching) at 2-3 liters/plant.
  8. Soil drenching with 0.01% vapam or 0.15% thiram helps in managing the disease. Dipping of banana suckers in 0.1% carbendazim before plantation gives good control.
  9. Banana cultivars Giant Cavendish, Lacatan, Rajavazhai, Peyladen, Moongil, Poovan and Vamanakeli are reported to be resistant to wilt.
 

3. SIGATOKA LEAF SPOT


The disease mostly attacks leaves and has been reported to cause economic losses to the banana crop. It has been reported to cause severe losses to banana crop in Coasta Rica, Colombia, Fizi, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Java, Mexico, Panama, Surinam, Tanzania, Uganda and Venezuela. In India, the disease is found in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, and West Bengal.
Symptoms: The initial symptoms seen in the field are small lesions on leaves which are pale yellow or greenish yellow streaks that appear on both sides of leaves parallel to the leaf veins. The leaf spots on leaves are increases in size to form dark brown to black linear oblong areas. Center of the spots eventually dry out, becoming light gray, but a narrow, dark brown to black border persists giving a spindle shaped appearance. Rapid drying and defoliation is the characteristic feature of this disease. In severe cases, the petiole collapses and the leaf hangs down from the pseudo stem. The infection may cause complete failure of maturity of the bunch. In some cases, premature ripening of fruits is also reported. In a growing plant, the leaf spots are seen mostly on the older leaves, the young leaves can be free from the spots.
Epidemiology and Disease Cycle: During rainy season, spread of the disease is very rapid. Both conidia and ascospores can cause infection but conidia predominate for most of the period. Conidia are produced in wet weather or in dew on the surface of lesions. The conidia are dispersed by water droplets to other leaves, particularly to the leaves of suckers. Ascospores are borne on older leaves in perithecia sunken into the leaves tissue. The disease is favoured by warm temperature (23-25 °C), rainy or humid weather, close planting, heavy weed or grass cover and failure to remove the suckers.
Disease Management:
  1. Removal and destruction of infected leaves is necessary.
  2. Spraying 1 % Bordeaux mixture mixed with 2 % linseed oil, providing improved drainage, good weed control, removal of suckers and correct spacing helps in reducing the disease incidence.
  3. Spraying 0.1% Topsin M or prochloraz or 0.1 % carbendazim or 0.2 % chlorothalonil or 0.15% kitazin 3-4 times at fortnightly intervals was quite effective in field trials.
 
                  

Groundnut;TIKKA DISEASE OR LEAF SPOT; RUST


GroundnutArachis hypogaea L.
Family: Fabaceae




1. TIKKA DISEASE OR LEAF SPOT


Tikka disease is reported from all groundnut growing countries of the world such as Africa, AustraliaChinaIndiaIndonesiaMalaysiaPhilippinesSri Lanka and USA. The disease is caused by two fungal plant pathogens i.e. Cercos

pora arachidicola and Cercosporidium personatum. The perfect stages of both these fungal pathogens (Mycosphaerella arachidicola and M. berkeleyii) play important role in primary infection and pathogen survival. The yield loss from tikka disease has been reported from 20-50 per cent but may be increased with association other diseases. The all groundnut varieties grown in India are susceptible to tikka disease.
Symptoms: The primary symptoms of the disease are appearing in 35 to 60 days old plants. The tikka disease occurs as two distinct types of lea spots caused by two species of Cercospora. C. personatum causes small (1-6 mm), almost circular and dark coloured spots on the leaves, stipules, petioles and stem which may coalesce to form a large dark brown to black irregular patch. There may be few to many spots on each leaf. The severe infection or spotting on the leaves causes premature dropping. The disease is more severe at the time between flowering and harvesting, when the climatic conditions are favourable. The leaf spots caused by Cercospora arachidicola are almost circular to irregular, large (1-10 mm), surrounded by bright yellow haloes and dark brown centre. The conidia are formed on upper surface of leaf while C. personatum produced conidia on lower surface of leaves with concentric rings.  

Causal Organism: The causal organism of tikka disease are Cercospora arachidicola Hori (perfect stage of the pathogen: Mycosphaerella arachidicola W. A. Jenkins) and Cercosporidium personatum (Berk & Curt) Deighton (perfect stage of the pathogen: Mycosphaerella berkeleyii W. A. Jenkins). The mycelium of C. personatum is intercellular, brown, septate, branched and slender with haustoria. The conidia are hyaline, 18-60 x 6-11 µm, 2-7 septate and borne singly on short, 26-54 x 5-8 µm conidiophores. The conidiophores are produced in bunches from the hymenial layer of sub-epidermal region. The mycelium of C. arachidicola is inter and intracellular, brown, septate, branched and without haustoria. The conidiophores are 22-45 x 3-5 µm, yellowish brown, septate and conidia are hyaline or pale yellow, obclavate, 4-12 septate measuring 38-108 x 3-6 µm.
Disease Cycle: The tikka disease of groundnut is soil borne. The pathogen C. arachidicola and C. personatum disseminated by wind which is blown from leaf to leaf. The primary infection of disease is caused by conidia found on the plant debris in the soil. The spores remain viable in the soil for a long time and infect the succeeding crop under favourable environmental conditions. High humidity and relatively low temperature is essential for initiating the fungal infection. It is observed that the high nitrogen fertilizer increases disease intensity.
Disease Management: The disease can be controlled by long crop rotation and sanitation practices. The intercropping with pigeon pea and use of phosphatic fertilizers also reduced the disease incidence. The early sowing crop varieties reduce the disease. The use of Dithane Z-78 (0.2%), Dithane M-45 (0.2%), Cosan, Breston (0.1%) and copper sulphate mixture (15-25 kg/ha) effectively controlled the disease. Some other effective systemic fungicides are benomyl, bavistin, brestanol and cercobin.

2. RUST


The rust of groundnut is distributed in Central and South America, China, India, West Indies and USSR. The disease is found in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. The rust of groundnut is an economic disease and causing 14-32 per cent yield loss.
Symptoms: The disease is found on 6 weeks or more old plants. The small orange coloured uredial pustules appear on lower surface of the leaves. At later stages, these pustules may appear on upper leaf surface and other aerial parts of the plant except flower. The ruptured epidermis exposes a powdery mass of uredospores. The infected leaves are showed small, brown and necrotic lesions on the upper leaf surface. The severely infected leaves wither and drop prematurely. The seeds formed on infected plants are small and shriveled.
Causal Organism: The rust of groundnut is caused by Puccinia arachidis Speg. The uredial and telial stages of the pathogen are known till now. The uredospores are one celled, subglobose, ovoid to round, light brown, thin walled, 2-3 germ pores and measuring 24 x 21 µm with short and hyaline pedicels.
Disease Cycle: The uredospores are short lived in infected plant debris. The continuous cultivation of the crop in India without any significant break may perpetuate the disease. The uredospores found in southern India may act as potential source of disease in northern India blown by wind during monsoon season.
Disease Management: The application of a mixture of Carbendazim (0.5 %) and Mancozeb (0.25 %) at 2-3 weeks interval on 4-5 weeks old plants effectively controlled the disease.


                  

Cotton: Gossypium spp.; RHIZOCTONIA ROOT ROT; WILT;VERTICILLIUM WILT; ANTHRACNOSE


Cotton: Gossypium spp.
Family: Malvaceae


Chilli:. ANTHRACNOSE

Chilli: Capsicum annuum L.
Family: Solanaceae



1. ANTHRACNOSE
Anthracnose disease is a major problem in India and one of the more significant economic constraints to chilli production worldwide, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. The disease causes both pre- and post-harvest fruit decay. Chilli anthracnose usually develops under high humid conditions when rain occurs after the fruits have started to ripen with reported losses of up to 84%. Economic losses caused by the disease are mainly attributed to lower fruit quality.
Chilli anthracnose was first reported in India on chillies from the Coimbatore. Anthracnose incited by Colletotrichum spp is one of the most damaging diseases of chilli in India. The severity of the disease varies depending on cultivars grown and the weather conditions prevailing in a particular region. In severe instances, the pre harvest and post harvest infections together account for more than 50% of the crop losses. Three species, namely C. capsici, C. gloeosporioides and C. acutatum were known earlier to cause anthracnose in chilli. However C. capsici was the most predominant species in the major chilli growing states namely Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Symptoms: Anthracnose is the common name for plant diseases characterized by very dark, sunken lesions, containing spores. The disease appears as small circular spots that coalesce to form large elliptical spots on fruits and leaves. Under severe conditions, defoliation of affected plants occurs. The disease has been observed to occur in three phases, they are: (i) Seedling blight or damping off, ii) Leaf spot and die back, and (iii) Anthracnose or fruit rot. Capsicum fruit rot reduces fruit dry weight and quantities of capsaicin and oleoresin. In anthracnose or fruit rot caused by C. capsici, the ripe fruits turning red are mostly affected. The disease is characterized by the appearance of small black circular spots on the skin of the fruits that spread in the direction of the long axis, thus becoming more or less elliptical. As the infection progresses, the spots get either diffused and black, greenish or dirty grey in colour or they are markedly delimited by a thick and sharp black outline enclosing a lighter black or straw coloured area. In some cases, the lesions are brown and then turn black from the formation of setae and sclerotia. Severe infection results in change of fruit colour from red to straw or white. Numerous acervuli are scattered on the discoloured area of the infected fruit. When a diseased fruit is cut open, the lower surface of the skin is covered with minute, spherical, black stromatic masses or sclerotia of the fungus. A mat of fungal hyphae covers the seeds. Such seeds turn rusty in colour. Affected fruits are deformed, white in colour and lose their pungency. Ultimately, the diseased fruit shrivels and dry up.
The disease symptoms of die-back starts from growing point of flower bud and the tops of the affected branches wither and turn brown. The disease infection move downwards and shows die-back. The infected parts get enamel white colour which is punctuated by scattered, black, bristly and minute elevations (acervuli) of the pathogen. The symptoms often appeared after rainy season and prolonged dew on the plants.
Disease Cycle: The fungus is both internally and externally seed-borne. Sowing such contaminated seeds results in pre emergent and post emergent damping-off of seedlings in nursery and field. These infected seedlings form the primary sources of inoculum. The fungus survives in an active form on the stems and branches causing die-back symptoms. The wet conditions caused due to monsoon rains that occur during the June-October period help in the outbreak and spread of the disease.
The pathogen survives between seasons in plant debris or on weed hosts. Alternative hosts include other solanaceae (tomato, potato, eggplant) plants. Fruits are infected when spores of the fungus or infested debris are rain splashed onto chilli plants. New spores are produced within the infected tissue and are then dispersed to other fruits. Infection usually occurs during warm, wet weather. Temperatures around 26 °C are optimum for disease development, although infection occurs at both higher and lower temperatures. Severe losses occur during rainy weather because the spores are washed or splashed to other fruits, resulting in more infections. The disease is more likely to develop on mature fruits, although it can occur on immature fruits as well.
Disease Management: Rot and die back caused by Colletotrichum capsici is the major disease of chilli in India. The integrated management techniques are recommended, as no single specific management program including crop rotation can eliminate chilli anthracnose.
Cultural control-
  • Planting of contaminated seed or transplants facilitates disease spread. Use of healthy pathogen-free chilli seed or transplants should be adopted.
  • Early removal of affected plants will control the spread of the diseases.
  • Transplants should be kept clean by controlling weeds and solanaceous volunteers in the vicinity of the transplant houses
  • Stagnation of water should not be allowed in nursery beds and fields in order to avoid fungal infection. The field should have good drainage and be free from infected plant debris.
Use of resistant cultivars-
  • The use of resistant varieties for anthracnose disease viz., IIHR 275-13-5, IIHR345-6, IIHR 332 -109, CC4, Ujwala, Perennial, H-1, H-4, H-6, CA 87-4. S- 20-1, Lorai and BG-1 will be useful in disease control.
Use of chemicals-
  • The disease can be controlled by seed and foliar spray treatment with perenox, azoxystrobin, chlorothalonil, copper, difenoconazole, famoxadone, iprodione, procymidone, tolylfluanid and carbendizim.00
  • The fungicide traditionally recommended for anthracnose management in chilli is Maneb (2.5g per liter) (Smith, 2000), although it does not consistently control the severe form of anthracnose on chilli fruits
  • The strobilurin fungicides azoxystrobin, trifloxystrobin and pyraclostrobin (1ml/liter) and difenconazole (1ml per liter) have recently been labeled for the control of the anthracnose disease. The first foliar spray is given at the first pair of leaf stage and subsequent sprays done twice at 20-day intervals.
Biological control-
  • Antagonistic Pseudomonas fluorescens as seed treatment and as well as spray treatment @108 CFU.g-1 were found to be effective against C. capsici (Srinivas et al., 2005; Jeger and Jeffries, 1988)
  • Trichoderma species are able to effectively control C. capsici infection in chilli.
  • Other biological control agents that have been tested for efficacy against Colletotrichum include Bacillus subtilis and Candida oleophila.
Use of plant extracts-
  • Plant products have been tested in many laboratories. Seed and spray treatment showed that the crude extract from rhizome, leaves and creeping branches of sweetflag (Acorus calamus L.), palmorosa (Cymbopogon martinii) oil, Ocimum sanctum leaf extract, and neem (Azadirachta indica) oil could restrict growth of the anthracnose fungus.

                      

Sunflower; LEAF SPOT; RUST


Sunflower: Helianthus annuus L.
Family: Asteraceae


1. LEAF SPOT


The disease is commonly found on all varieties of sunflower in the winter season.
Symptoms: The pathogen produces brown coloured spots on the leaves, stem, sepals and petals. The lesions on the leaves are dark brown with pale yellow margins and yellow halo, at first the spot is small and become larger as the disease advanced with irregularly circular shape (up to 2-3 cm in diameter). 
Causal Organism: The fungal pathogen causing leaf spot of sunflower is Alternaria helianthi Hansf. The mycelium is septate, branched and bearing conidiophores. The conidiophores are cylindrical, pale grey-yellow, straight or curved, geniculate, simple or branched, 2-5 septate and measuring 31-80 x 8-11 µm. The conidia are cylindrical to long ellipsoid, straight or slightly curved, pale yellow to pale brown, 1-11 transversely septate, occasionally longitudinal septa, constricted at the septa, rounded at both ends and measuring 42 – 110 x 15 – 28 µm. The conidia are produced singly on the conidiophores. The fungal pathogen grows well and produced abundant conidia on culture media.
Disease Cycle: The disease is appearing each year through soil borne fungal inoculums. The pathogen is survived in plant debris.
Disease Management: The disease can be effectively controlled by spraying of Mancozeb (0.3%) thrice with 7-10 days intervals, Dithane M-45 (0.2%) or Thiovit or any other copper fungicide with ten days intervals.
   

2. RUST


The rust disease of sunflower is common, widespread and most severe. The severe infection of disease reduces yield considerably.
Symptoms: The small reddish brown spots covered with rusty coloured dust are appear on the lower leaves and then spread to all leaves even to other green parts of the head. The leaves turn yellow but only sometimes fall down from the plants. The pycnia and aecia stages usually occur on volunteer seedling plants which are growing among the debris of the previous crop. The inoculum from the affected crop is spread by wind to the healthy cultivated crop.
Causal Organism: The fungal pathogen of sunflower rust is Puccinia helianthi Schw. which is an autoecious pathogen and produces uredia and telia on the leaves. The uredosori are dark cinnamon brown and uredospores are round elliptical or ovoid, wall dark cinnamon brown, finely echinulate with two equatorial pores and measuring 17 – 21 x 24 – 27 µm. The teleutospores are two celled, elliptical or oblong, 21 – 31 x 28 – 50 µm, obtuse or rounded at the tip and base, constricted at the septum, chestnut brown, smooth and colourless pedicel which is longer than spore.
Disease Management: The sanitation practices like crop rotation, destruction of volunteer seedlings and trash of previous year crop may be helpful in checking the disease. The spraying of fungicides such as Thiovit, Dithane M-45 or Nickle chloride is effectively control the disease. The cultivation of resistant sunflower varieties like MSFH-1, MSFH-6, MSFH-8, MSFH-9, BSF-1 and VSF 182 is the best way to control the disease completely.

Tomato; WILT

Tomato: Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.
Family: Solanaceae
 
 

1. WILT


The wilt is one of the serious diseases of tomato reported from several countries of the world including India. The disease has been reported from every state of India where crop is growing. The disease is very severe in the tomato crop where this is repeatedly grown year after year in the same fields.
Symptoms: The first symptom of the disease is appearing as clearing of the veinlets and leaf chlorosis. As the disease advanced, the petiole and leaves are droop and wilt. The entire plant may wilt and die in few days. If the roots and stem cut transversely, a dark brown or black discolouration of the vascular tissues may be seen.
Causal Organism: The wilt of tomato is causing by Fusarium oxysporum f. lycopersici (Sacc.) Snyder and Hansen. The fungal pathogen produce both inter and intra-cellular mycelium which produced macro- and micro-conidia. The mycelium is delicate, peach coloured, sparse or abundant then floccose becoming felted and sometimes winkled in older cultures. Microconidia: borne on simple phialides arising laterally on the hyphae or from the short sparsely branched conidiophores, abundant, variable, oval to ellipsoid and straight to curved, 5 – 11 x 2.4 - 3.5 µm. Macroconidia: borne on more elaborately branched conidiophores or on the surface of sporodochia, thin walled, 3 – 5 septate, fusoid- subulate and pointed at the both ends, hooked apex and a pedicillate base; 3 septate, 33 – 41  x  3 – 5 µm; 5 septate,  37 – 58 x 3 – 5 µm. 3 septate conidia were more abundant. Chlamydospores: smooth, abundant, terminal and intercalary, solitary or occasionally in pairs.
Disease Cycle: The fungal pathogen is present in many soils as saprophyte. The pathogen infects host plants if grown in infested soils. The pathogen attacks root, rootlets and spread upwards in the host vascular tissues. The pathogen multiplies rapidly within the vascular tissues and clogs them which interferes the upward movement of solutes and nutrients, resulting in wilting of host plants. The pathogen also produced toxins (fusaric acid and lycomarasmin) inside the host tissues that may play a vital role in disease development.
Disease Management: The pathogen is soil borne and persists saprophytically for many years. Thus, the disease control is very difficult. The cultivation of resistant varieties is the only effective method for disease control.
 
                      

Banana; BUNCHY TOP; PANAMA DISEASE; SIGATOKA LEAF SPOT

Banana: Musa paradisica var. sapientum
Family: Musaceae



1. BUNCHY TOP


The disease was recorded first time in 1879 from Fiji. The disease has also been reported from Egypt, Sri Lanka, Australia, Pacific islands, Malaysia and India. It is believed that the disease has been introduced in India from Sri Lanka through infected suckers. The disease is reported from Kerala in1940 and spread in banana growing neighbouring states like Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Orissa and Assam.
Symptoms: - The disease is transmitted to the plant by the aphid vector Pentalonia nigronervosa and dwarf varieties of banana are very susceptible to the disease. The primary symptoms of the disease are seen when infected banana suckers are planted. The suckers put forth narrow leaves, which are chlorotic and mosaic. The affected leaves are brittle, with dark green patches and margins rolled upwards. The characteristic symptom of bunchy top virus is the presence of dark green streaks along the secondary veins or midrib of petiole. The diseased plants remain stunted and do not produce fruits. The infected plant leaves shows characteristic rosette or bunchy top symptoms. The disease does not kill the plant but once the plant gets infected it does not recover from the disease.
Causal Organism: - The disease is caused by Banana virus I or Musa virus I or Banana bunchy top virus transmitted by the aphid vector Pentalonia nigronervosa.
Disease Cycle: - The virus is found systemically in all parts of the plant including rhizomes and suckers. The first symptom of the disease is appeared after 5-6 weeks of inoculation from insect vector. The vector usually feed at basal portion of pseudostem of host plant but may be found on upper portion of the host plant. The aphids may migrate at long distances. The aphid retains the infective potential for a period of 13 days and transmits the virus to healthy host in a period of 90 minutes.
Disease Management:
  1. Removal of clumps, suckers and diseased plants is very important to stop dissemination of disease.
  2. Planting material should be disease free and not collected from disease prone areas.
  3. The vector (aphid) should be controlled to check spread of the disease by spraying with 0.1-0.5% Metasystox.
  4. The disease affected banana plants should be killed with herbicide (2,4- D or 2, 4, 5 – T). The infected rhizomes dug out and cut into small pieces with further spray of herbicide to check germination, which may harbour the virus.

2. PANAMA DISEASE


Fusarium wilt of banana (panama disease) is one of the most devastating diseases of banana in the world. The disease is prevalent in Australia, Coasta Rica, Hawaii, India, Jamaica, Panama, South America, Surinam and West Africa. The disease affects many economically important varieties. The disease has been reported in India from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, and West Bengal states.
Symptoms: - The pathogen attacks banana plants of all ages and spreads mainly through the soil. The pathogen gets entry in the plant body through roots damage caused by the nematodes. The fungus blocks the vascular system and causes wilting. It is most damaging in poorly drained soil. Banana plants affected by fusarium will show yellowing of leaves starting with the oldest leaves. The newly emerged leaf remain green and erect for a long period but later it also shows blotchy and yellowing symptom with wrinkling lamina. Other petioles may remain erect but will soon become yellow then brown and dry. In some cases the outer leaf sheaths of the pseudostem may split longitudinally near soil level. If the pseudostem cut longitudinally, many black or brown coloured streaks can be seen which run upward to leaf bases and all other directions. The cut stem smells like rotten fish. Plants affected by panama will generally not develop sufficiently for a mature bunch to be produced and the disease can cause total crop loss. The disease spread is favoured by warm soil temperature, poor drainage, light soils and high soil moisture. Red or brown dots or streaks are also seen.
Causal Organism: - The pathogen causing wilt or panama disease of banana is Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (E. F. S.) Snyder and Hansen. The fungal hyphae are present inter and intra cellularly in the host tissues. The pathogen fills the cavities of vascular tissues and spread systemically. The fungus produces numerous micro-conidia, macro-conidia and chlamydospores. The sporodochium bears many conidiophores, is arises from pseudo-parenchymatous tissues. The macro-conidia are sickle shaped, hyaline, thin walled, 2-5 septate and measures 24-36 x 4-5 µm and micro-conidia are ovate, single to non septate, hyaline and thin walled which measures 5-7 x 2-3 µm. The chlamydospores are oval or spherical, thick walled, may be paired, measuring 7-12 x 7-8 µm. The pathogen has several races which are reported from many countries.
Disease Cycle: - Light textured loam and sandy loam soils which are acidic favours the disease development. The pathogen is soil borne and invades the plant through injured roots and rhizomes. The mycelium of the pathogen colonized the vascular bundles of host plant and produces micro-conidia, macro-conidia and chlamydospores. The chlamydopores survive in the soil for a long time. The pathogen can also survive in disease rhizomes and other plant parts saprophytically and become active when conditions are favourable and infection takes place. The pathogen spreads through suckers from disease infested area to other areas. The pathogen can survive in the soil more than twenty years.
Disease Management:
  1. Highly infected soil should not be replanted with banana at least for 4-5 years.
  2. Flooding of wilt affected areas for six months has been reported to give satisfactory results.
  3. Use the healthy planting material, removal of infected plants at first sight and avoidance of root injury through intercultural operations helps in reducing the disease incidence.
  4. Use of disease resistant cultivars is recommended.
  5. Growing of paddy followed by banana for 3-5 years once or twice, use of quick lime near the base of the plant and soaking with water and avoiding sunflower or sugarcane in crop rotation helps to reduce the disease incidence.
  6. Application of bioagents, such as, Trichoderma viride or Pseudomonas fluorescence in the soil is effective. Application of the capsule filled with P. fluorescence at 60 mg/capsule is recommended at 2, 4 and 6 months after planting.
  7. The modified Panchagavya mixture at 101 dilution should be applied (soil drenching) at 2-3 liters/plant.
  8. Soil drenching with 0.01% vapam or 0.15% thiram helps in managing the disease. Dipping of banana suckers in 0.1% carbendazim before plantation gives good control.
  9. Banana cultivars Giant Cavendish, Lacatan, Rajavazhai, Peyladen, Moongil, Poovan and Vamanakeli are reported to be resistant to wilt.

3. SIGATOKA LEAF SPOT


The disease mostly attacks leaves and has been reported to cause economic losses to the banana crop. It has been reported to cause severe losses to banana crop in Coasta Rica, Colombia, Fizi, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Java, Mexico, Panama, Surinam, Tanzania, Uganda and Venezuela. In India, the disease is found in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, and West Bengal.
Symptoms: The initial symptoms seen in the field are small lesions on leaves which are pale yellow or greenish yellow streaks that appear on both sides of leaves parallel to the leaf veins. The leaf spots on leaves are increases in size to form dark brown to black linear oblong areas. Center of the spots eventually dry out, becoming light gray, but a narrow, dark brown to black border persists giving a spindle shaped appearance. Rapid drying and defoliation is the characteristic feature of this disease. In severe cases, the petiole collapses and the leaf hangs down from the pseudo stem. The infection may cause complete failure of maturity of the bunch. In some cases, premature ripening of fruits is also reported. In a growing plant, the leaf spots are seen mostly on the older leaves, the young leaves can be free from the spots.
Epidemiology and Disease Cycle: During rainy season, spread of the disease is very rapid. Both conidia and ascospores can cause infection but conidia predominate for most of the period. Conidia are produced in wet weather or in dew on the surface of lesions. The conidia are dispersed by water droplets to other leaves, particularly to the leaves of suckers. Ascospores are borne on older leaves in perithecia sunken into the leaves tissue. The disease is favoured by warm temperature (23-25 °C), rainy or humid weather, close planting, heavy weed or grass cover and failure to remove the suckers.
Disease Management:
  1. Removal and destruction of infected leaves is necessary.
  2. Spraying 1 % Bordeaux mixture mixed with 2 % linseed oil, providing improved drainage, good weed control, removal of suckers and correct spacing helps in reducing the disease incidence.
  3. Spraying 0.1% Topsin M or prochloraz or 0.1 % carbendazim or 0.2 % chlorothalonil or 0.15% kitazin 3-4 times at fortnightly intervals was quite effective in field trials.

                      

Crop Protection :: Pest of paddy



Crop Protection :: Pest of paddy


Crop Protection :: Pest of paddy


Paddy Crop : Rice
Scientific Name : Oryza Sativa
Order: Cyperales
Family : Poaceae
Local Names : Nellu
Major Pests
Important pests of Rice
Nursery pests
Thrips: Stenchaetothrips biformis Symptoms
Green leafhopper, Nephotettix virescens Symptoms
Rice case worm: Nymphula depunctalis Symptoms
Paddy stemborer: Scirpophaga incertulas Symptoms
Swarming caterpillar: Spodoptera mauritia Symptoms
Main field pests
Paddy stemborer: Scirpophaga incertulas Symptoms Identification Management
Gall midge: Orseolia oryzae Symptoms Identification Management
Swarming caterpillar: Spodoptera mauritia Symptoms Identification Management
Rice skipper: Pelopidas mathias Symptoms Identification Management
Leaf folder (or) leaf roller, Cnaphalocrocis mainsails Symptoms Identification Management
Rice horned caterpillar, Melanitis ismene Symptoms Identification Management
Yellow hairy caterpillar, Psalis pennatula Symptoms Identification Management
Grasshopper, Hieroglyphus banian Symptoms Identification Management
Spiny beetle / Rice hispa, Dicladispa armigera Symptoms Identification Management
Whorl maggot, Hydrellia sasakii Symptoms Identification Management
Green leafhopper, Nephotettix virescens Symptoms Identification Management
Brown plant leafhopper, Nilaparvata lugens Symptoms Identification Management
White backed plant hopper, Sogatella furcifera Symptoms Identification Management
Mealy bug, Brevennia rehi Symptoms Identification Management
Rice earhead bug: Leptocorisa acuta Symptoms Identification Management
Thrips: Stenchaetothrips biformis Symptoms Identification Management
I. Nursery pests
1. Thrips: Stenchaetothrips biformis

Symptoms of damage
  • Laceration of  the tender leaves and suck the plant sap
  • Yellow (or) silvery streaks on the leaves of young seedlings
  • Terminal rolling and drying of leaves from tip to base
  • It causes damage both in nursery and main field
Initial - inward rolling
Silvery streak


Identification of insect pest 
  • Adults - are dark brown in colour
Nymph
Adult
Management
  • Spray any one of the following in nursery stage
    Phosphamidon    40 SL       50 ml
    Monocrotophos   36 SL       40 ml

2. Green leafhopper, Nephotettix virescens


Symptom of damage
  • Yellowing of leaves from tip to downwards.
  • Vector for the diseases viz., Rice tungro virus, rice yellow & transitory yellowing
Yellowing
Rice tungro virus


Identification of insect pest 
  • Adults - are green with black spot and black patch on wings.
Adult - Green leaf hopper
Management
  • Use resistant varieties like IR 50, CR 1009, Co 46.
  • Apply neem cake @ 12.5 kg/20 cent nursery as basal dose
  • The vegetation on the bunds should also be sprayed with the insecticides
  • Set up light traps
3. Rice case worm, Nymphula depunctalis 
Symptom of damage
  • Caterpillars feed on green tissues of the leaves and leave become whitish papery
  • Tubular cases around the tillers by cutting the apical portion of leaves
  • Floating of tubular cases on the water

Case tubes


Identification of insect pest
  • Larva - Pale translucent green with orange head.
  • It has filamentous gills on the sides of the body
  • Adult:  Moth is delicate white moth with pale brown wavy markings
Larva
Adult
 
Management
  • Drain the water
  • Dislodge the cases – running rope
  • Nursery - Mix 100 ml kerosene in standing water.
  • Spray monocrotophos 36 WSC 500 ml / ha
4. Paddy stemborer: Scirpophaga incertulas
Symptom of damage
  • Presence of brown coloured egg mass near leaf tip.
  • Caterpillar bore into central shoot of paddy seedling and tiller
  • Causes drying of the central shoot known as“dead heart”
  • Grown up plant whole panicle becomes dried“white ear”.
Dead heart
White ear
Identification of insect pest
  • Egg - Laid in a mass and covered with buff coloured hairs.
  • Larva - Pale yellow with dark brown head.
  • Pupa - White silken cocoon.
  • Adult
  • Female moth - bright yellowish brown fore wings with a black spot possess a tuft of yellow hairs.
  • Male moth - Smaller with pale yellow forewings without black spot.
Egg 
Larva  
Adult
Management
  • Resistant varieties: Ratna, Jaya, TKM 6.
  • Avoid close planting and continuous water stagnation
  • Pull out and destroy the affected tillers
  • Set up light traps to attract and kill the moths
  • Harvest the crop upto the ground level and disturb the stubbles
  • Release the egg parasitoid, Trichogramma japonicum on twice @ 5  cc/ha/
(followed by monocrotophos 36 SL spray thrice @ 1000 ml/ha on 58, 65 and 72 DAT)
  • Apply Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki and neem seed kernel extract
Spray any one of the following insecticides
  • Monocrotophos         36 SL       1000 ml/ha
  • Quinalphos                25 EC      1000 ml/ha
  • Phosphamidon           40 SL        600 ml/ha
  • Profenophos               50 EC     1000 ml/ha
 
5. Swarming caterpillar, Spodoptera mauritia
Symptom of damage
  • Larvae cut the seedlings in large scale
  • Severe infestation - cattle grazing appearance to the field.
  • They feed gregariously and march from field to field.
Identification of insect pest
  • Egg - Laid in masses on leaves and covered with grey hairs
  • Larva - Caterpillar is cylindrical dark to pale green with lateral lines along the body
  • Pupa - Pupates in an earthen cocoon in soil
  • Adult - Moth is medium sized stoutly build.
  • Dark brown with a conspicuous triangular spot on fore wings.
larva
Adult

Management
  • Kerosenate the water while irrigation – suffocation
  • Allow ducks into the field   
Nursery
  • Drain the water
  • Spray chlorpyriphos 20 EC 80ml + 20 lit of water for 8 cents
II. Main field pests
1. Paddy stemborer: Scirpophaga incertulas
Symptom of damage
  • Presence of brown coloured egg mass near leaf tip.
  • Caterpillar bore into central shoot of paddy seedling and tiller
  • Causes drying of the central shoot known as“dead heart”
  • Grown up plant whole panicle becomes dried“white ear”.
Dead heart  
White ear

Identification of insect pest
  • Egg - Laid in a mass and covered with buff coloured hairs.
  • Larva - Pale yellow with dark brown head.
  • Pupa - White silken cocoon.
  • Adult
  • Female moth - bright yellowish brown fore wings with a black spot possess a tuft of yellow hairs.
  • Male moth - Smaller with pale yellow forewings without black spot.
Egg 
Larva  
Adult
Management
  • Resistant varieties: Ratna, Jaya, TKM 6.
  • Avoid close planting and continuous water stagnation
  • Pull out and destroy the affected tillers
  • Set up light traps to attract and kill the moths
  • Harvest the crop upto the ground level and disturb the stubbles
  • Release the egg parasitoid, Trichogramma japonicum on twice @ 5  cc/ha/
(followed by monocrotophos 36 SL spray thrice @ 1000 ml/ha on 58, 65 and 72 DAT)
  • Apply Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki and neem seed kernel extract
Spray any one of the following insecticides
  • Monocrotophos         36 SL       1000 ml/ha
  • Quinalphos                25 EC      1000 ml/ha
  • Phosphamidon           40 SL        600 ml/ha
  • Profenophos               50 EC     1000 ml/ha
2. Gall midge, Orseolia oryzae
Symptom of damage
  • Maggot feeds at the base of the growing shoot
  • Causing formation of a tube like gall that is similar to “onion leaf” or “Silver-shoot”.
  • Infested tillers produce no panicles.
Tuber gall

Identification of insect pest
  • Egg: Reddish, elongate, tubular eggs just near the ligule of the leaf blade
  • Larva: Maggot is pale to red colour feeds inside the gall.
  • Pupa: pupates at the base of the gall and moves to tip of the gall
  • Adult: Adult is orange coloured mosquito like fly
Egg     
Adult   
Management
  • Early ploughing
  • Resistant varieties: MDU 3, Shakthi, Vikram and Sureka
  • Harvest the crop and plough immediately
  • Remove the alternate hosts and adjust the time of planting (early)
  • Use early maturing  varieties
  • Optimum recommendation of potash fertilizer
  • Setup light trap and monitor the adult flies
3. Swarming caterpillar, Spodoptera mauritia
Symptom of damage
  • Larvae cut the seedlings in large scale
  • Severe infestation - cattle grazing appearance to the field.
  • They feed gregariously and march from field to field.
Identification of insect pest
  • Egg - Laid in masses on leaves and covered with grey hairs
  • Larva - Caterpillar is cylindrical dark to pale green with lateral lines along the body
  • Pupa - Pupates in an earthen cocoon in soil
  • Adult - Moth is medium sized stoutly build.
  • Dark brown with a conspicuous triangular spot on fore wings.
larva
Adult

Management
  • Kerosenate the water while irrigation – suffocation
  • Allow ducks into the field   
Nursery
  • Drain the water
  • Spray chlorpyriphos 20 EC 80ml + 20 lit of water for 8 cents
4. Rice skipper, Pelopidas mathias
Symptom of damage
  • Edges of the leaves are fastened with webbing.
  • Backward rolling of leaves,
  • caterpillar feeds from margin to  inwards
Identification of insect pest
  • Larva: Pale green with constructed neck.
  • Adult: Butterfly with brown coloured wings and curved antenna
Caterpillar
  Adult
Management
  • Spray   monocrotophos 36 WSC 500 ml / ha
5. Leaf folder (or) leaf roller, Cnaphalocrocis mainsails / Marasmia patnalis
Symptom of damage
  • Leaves fold longitudinally and larvae remains inside.
  • Larvae scrapes the green tissues of the leaves and becomes white and dry.
  • During severe infestation the whole field exhibits scorched appearance
Longitudinal folding    
larva inside the fold       
leaf folder
white and dried leaves

Identification of insect pest 
  • Egg - Flat, oval in shape and yellowish white in colour.
  • Larva - Greenish translucent
  • Adult - Moth is brownish with many dark wavy lines in centre and dark band on margin of wings
Larva
Adult
Management
  • Resistant varieties: TNAU LFR 831311, Cauveri, Akash, TKM 6
  • Clipping of the affected leaves
  • Keep the bunds clean
  • Avoid excessive nitrogenous fertilizers
  • Light traps to attract and kill moths
  • Release Trichogramma chilonis @ 1, 25,000/ha thrice
  • Spray NSKE 5 % or carbaryl 50 WP 1 Kg or chlorpyriphos 20 EC 1250 ml/ ha.
  • Apply Cholorpyriphos 5 ml in 1 lit of water
                                  
 6. Rice horned caterpillar, Melanitis ismene
 Damage
  • Larva feeds on leaf blades of rice.
  • Leaves are defoliated from the margin or tip irregularly.
Identification of insect pest
  • Egg - White eggs singly on the leaves is green,
  • Larva - Lightly flattened with two red horns processes on the head
  • Two yellow processes in the anal end
  • Pupa - Chrysalis, which suspends from the leaf.
  • Adult - dark brown with large wings having a black
  • yellow eye like spot one on each of the fore wings.
Caterpillar      
Adult
Management
  • Spray monocrotophos 36 WSC 500 ml / ha
7. Yellow hairy caterpillar, Psalis pennatula
Symptoms of damage
  • Caterpillar causes defoliation
Identification of insect pest  
Larva
  • Caterpillar is yellowish brown with red stripes
  • Orange head and tufts of hairs all over the body.
  • Pupa - pale white cocoon of silk and frass attached to the leaf
  • Adult - Moth is stout with straw coloured forewings.
Management 
  • Spray   monocrotophos 36 WSC 500 ml / ha.
8. Grasshopper, Hieroglyphus banian
Short horned grasshopper, Oxya  nitidula 
Symptom of damage
  • Irregular feeding on seedlings and leaf blade
  • Cutting of stem at panicle stage
  • Completely defoliate the plants leaving only the mid ribs
Identification of insect pest  
  • Adults - Green, larger with transverse black lines on pronotum

Management
  • Expose the eggs to be picked up by birds after ploughing and trim the bunds
  • Dusting the crop with 5-10% BHC or methyl parathion 2% @ 25-30 kg/ha
  • Dusting malathion 5% @ 20 kg/ha.
9. Spiny beetle / Rice hispa, Dicladispa armigera
Symptoms of damage
  • Adults feed on chlorophyll by scraping and causing white parallel streaks
  • White patches along with long axis of leaf.
  • Grubs mine into the leaves and make blister near leaf tips.

Identification of insect pest
  • Larva - Grub is minute, flat and yellow
  • Adult - Blue - black shiny beetle with spines on the thorax and elytra
Adult
Management
  • Leaf tip containing blotch mines should be  destroyed         
  • Manual collection and killing of beetles – hand nets
10. Whorl maggot, Hydrellia sasakii
Symptom od damage
  • Maggot  feeds on the tender tissue inside the whorl
  • Yellowish white longitudinal marginal blotching with hole
  • Leaves shrivelled plant stunted and maturity delayed.
  • Drooping of young leaves near the tip
Yellowish white blotching
Identification of the pest
  • Maggot - Yellowish white in colour.
  • Adult - Small dull grey fly.
Management
  • Remove the alternate hosts and adjust the time of planting (early)
  • Use early maturing  varieties
  • Optimum recommendation of potash fertilizer
11. Green leafhopper, Nephotettix virescens
Symptom of damage
  • Yellowing of leaves from tip to downwards.
  • Vector for the diseases viz., Rice tungro virus, rice yellow & transitory yellowing
Yellowing


Adult
Identification of insect pest
  • Adults - are green with black spot and black patch on wings.
Management
  • Use resistant varieties like IR 50, CR 1009, Co 46.
  • Apply neem cake @ 12.5 kg/20 cent nursery as basal dose
  • The vegetation on the bunds should also be sprayed with the insecticides
  • Set up light traps
  • Spray  insecticides twice, 15 and 30 days after transplanting like
  • phosphamidon 40 SL@ 1000 ml /ha
  • profenophos 50 EC @1000 ml/ha
12. Brown plant leafhopper, Nilaparvata lugens
Symptoms of damage
  • Nymphs and adults congregate at the base of the plant above the water level
  • Affected plant dries up and gives a scorched appearance called “hopper burn”.
  • Circular patches of drying and lodging of matured plant
  • It is vector of grassy stunt, ragged stunt and wilted stunt diseases
Hopper burn
Grassy stunt
Identification of insect pest
  • Adult: Brown body and chestnut brown eyes. It has two forms viz.,
(Macropterous (long winged) and brachypterous (short winged)).
Management
  • Use resistant/tolerant varieties like Aruna, ADT 36, Co 42, Co 46 IR 36, IR 72.
  • Avoid close planting
  • To provide 30 cm rogue spacing at every 2.5 m to reduce the pest incidence.
  • Avoid use of excessive nitrogenous fertilizers
  • Control irrigation by intermittent draining
  • Set up light traps during night
  • Yellow pan traps during day time
  • Conserve  natural enemies like Lycosa pseudoannulataCyrtorhinus lividipennis
  • Avoid synthetic pyrethroids, methyl parathion, fenthion and quinalphos causing resurgence
  • Drain the water before the use of insecticides
  • Apply any one of the following
    • Phosphamidon 40 SL@ 1000 ml/ha,
    • Monocrotophos 36 SL @ 1250 ml/ha
    • Carbofuran 3 G @ 17.5 kg/ha
    • Imidacloprid 18.5@ 100 ml/ha
    • Thiomethoxam 20 WDG@ 100 ml/ha
    • Dichlorvos 76 WSC @  350 ml/ ha
    • Neem oil   3% @  15 lit/ha
    • Iluppai oil  6% @  30 lit/ha
    • Neem seed kernel extract 5% @ 25 kg/ha
 
13. White backed plant hopper, Sogatella furcifera, 
Damage
  • Suck the sap and cause stunted growth.
  • “Hopper burn” is caused in irregular patches.
Identification of insect pest 
  • Nymph - White in colour and pronotum is pale yellow.
  • Adult - Possess a diamond like marking on the thorax and ovipositional site is black streaks.
Nymphs and adults
Management
  • Avoid use of excessive nitrogenous fertilizers
  • Control irrigation by intermittent draining
Apply any one of the following
  • Phosphamidon 40 SL@ 1000 ml/ha,
  • Monocrotophos 36 SL @ 1250 ml/ha
  • Carbofuran 3 G @ 17.5 kg/ha
  • Dichlorvos 76 WSC @  350 ml/ ha
  • Neem oil   3% @  15 lit/ha
  • Iluppai oil  6% @  30 lit/ha
  • Neem seed kernel extract 5% @ 25 kg/ha
14. Mealybug, Brevennia rehi

 Damage
  • Large number of insects remains in leaf sheath and suck the sap.
  • Plants become week, yellowish and very much stunted in circular patches.
  • Presence of white waxy fluff in leaf sheaths
Identification of insect pest  

  • Adult - Small reddish white, soft-bodied
  • wingless insect covered with filamentous materials.
Management
  • Durin field preparation - remove the grasses from the bunds and trim the bunds
  • Remove and destroy the affected plants.
  •  Spray any one of the following insecticides in the initial stage of infestation
    • dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml/ha
    • methyl demeton 25 EC@ 500 ml/ha.
    • Conserve the natural enemies like Scymnus sp.,Anatrichus pygmaeus, and Mepachymerus ensifer
15. Rice earhead bug: Leptocorisa acuta

Symptoms of damage
  • Sucking the sap from individual grains, which are in milky stage.
  • Individual grains become chaffy
  • Black spots on the grains at the site of feeding puncture.
  • Buggy odour in rice field during milky stage
Eggs  
Black spots 

Identification of insect pest 
  • Eggs: Dark, reddish brown and  laid in rows of 10-15 on the leaves (or) panicles
  • Nymphs: Green to brown.
  • Adults: Slender with long legs and antennae.
  • They are brownish green in colourwhile disturbing it emittes stink odour
Adult
Management
Dust any one of the following at 25 kg/ha twice, the first during flowering and second a week later
  • Quinalphos  1.5 D                                          
  • Carbaryl        10 D
  • Malathion        5 D
  • KKM             10 D
  • KKM dust formulation consists of 10% of Acorus calamus rhizome powder and 90% of fly ash
  • This dust formulation repels the rice earhead bug.                
Spray any one of the following twice as above
  • Fenthion 100 EC @ 500 ml/ha or Malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml/ha    
  • Neem seed kernel extract 5% @  25 kg/ha or Notchi or Prosopis leaf extract 10% .
16. Thrips: Stenchaetothrips biformis
Symptoms of damage
  • Laceration of  the tender leaves and suck the plant sap
  • Yellow (or) silvery streaks on the leaves of young seedlings
  • Terminal rolling and drying of leaves from tip to base
  • It causes damage both in nursery and main field
Silvery streaks
Identification of insect pest 
  • Adults - are dark brown in colour
Management
  • Spray any one of the following in nursery stage
    Phosphamidon    40 SL       50 ml
    Monocrotophos   36 SL       40 ml
  • Spray any one of the following in main field stage
    Phosphamidon    40 SL       300 ml
    Monocrotophos   36 SL       30 ml