Sunflower pests Pests of National Significance in Sunflower Insect Pests Diseases Pests of Regional Significance ...
Sunflower pests
- Pests of National Significance in
Sunflower
- Diseases
- Pests of Regional Significance
- Weeds
- Vertebrates
- IPM for Sunflower
Pests of National Significance in Sunflower
Insect Pests
- Tobacco caterpillar: Spodoptera litura Fabricius
(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
- Head borer: Helicoverpa armigera Hübner
(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
- Jassids: Amrasca biguttula Ishida (Homoptera: Cicadellidae)
- Thrips: Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood
(Thripidae: Thysanoptera)
- Green semilooper: Thysanoplusia orichalcea Fabricius
(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
- Cabbage semilooper: Trichoplusia ni (Hubner)
(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
- Bihar hairy caterpillar: Spilosoma obliqua Walker
(Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)
- Cutworm: Agrotis ipsilon Rott (Lepidoptera:
Noctuidae)
- Termite: Odontotermes obesus (Rambur) &
Microtermes obeli Hol (Isoptera: Termitidae)
Diseases
- Alternaria leaf spot: Alternaria
helianthi (Hansf.) Tubaki & Nishi
- Sunflower Necrosis disease: Tobacco Streak Virus
- Downy mildew: Plasmopara halstedii Farl. Berl.
& De Toni
- Rust: Puccinia helianthi Schwein
- Sclerotium wilt: Sclerotium
rolfsii Sacc
- Charcoal rot: Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid
- Sclerotinia wilt and rot: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de
Bary
Pests of Regional Significance
Insect Pests
- Whitefly: Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera:
Aleyrodidae)
- Armyworm: Spodoptera exigua (Hubner)
(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Diseases
- Head rot: Rhizopus arrhizus Fischer
- Powdery mildew: Erysiphe cichoracearum f.sp. helianthi DC
ex Meret and Sphaerotheca fuliginea (Schlecht.ex Fr)
Pollacci
Weeds
Grassy weeds
- Rabbit/crow foot grass: Dactyloctenium aegyptium Willd (
Poaceae)
- Goose grass: Eleusine indica L.
Gaertner (Poaceae)
- Crabgrass: Digiteria sanguinalis L.Scop
(Poaceae)
- Burmuda Grass: Cynodon dactylon (L) Pers (Poaceae)
- Cannery grass: Phalaris minor Retz. (Poaceae)
- Barnyard grass: Echinochloa colona (L.) Link, E.
crusgalli (L.) Honda (Poaceae)
- Viper grass: Dinebra retroflexa (Vahl) Panz
(Poaceae)
- Sweet signal grass: Brachiaria eruciformis (Sm.) Griseb (Poaceae)
Broad leaf
- False amaranth: Digera arvensis Forssk
(Amaranthaceae)
- Pigweed: Amaranthus viridis Hook. F.
(Amaranthaceae)
- Swine cress: Coronopus didymus L. Sm.
(Brassicaceae)
- Black nightshade: Solanum nigrum L. (Solanaceae)
- Common purselane: Portulaca oleracea L. (Portulacaceae)
- Carrot grass: Parthenium hysterophorus L.
(Asteraceae)
- Tropical spiderwort: Commelina benghalensis L.
(Commelinaceae)
- Stonebreaker: Phyllanthus niruri L. Phyllanthaceae
- Silver cockscomb: Celosia argentea L. Amaranthaceae
- Devil's horsewhip: Achyranthes aspera L.
Amaranthaceae
Sedges
- Purple nutsedge: Cyperus rotundus L (Cypraceae)
- Rice flatsedge: Cyperus iria L (Cyperaceae)
- Yellow nutsedge: Cyperus esculentus L (Cyperaceae)
Vertebrates
- Birds: Parakeets
IPM for Sunflower
To know
the IPM practices for Sunflower, click here.
Source: NIPHM; Directorate
of Plant
Protection, Quarantine & Storage
32 ratings
IPM for sunflower
- Cutworms
- Jassids
- White flies
- Aphids
- Mealybug
- Tobacco caterpillar
- Head borer
- Bihar hairy caterpillar
- Parakeet (Bird)
Sunflowers
can be a high-risk crop because of potential losses from diseases, insects,
birds and weeds. These potential risks require the farmers to follow integrated
pest management (IPM) practices. IPM is a sustainable approach to managing
pests by combining biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools in a way
that minimizes economic, health and environmental risks and maintains pest
populations below levels that cause unacceptable losses to crop quality or
yield. IPM also recommends the judicious use of chemical pesticides when
needed and suggests ways to maximize effectiveness and minimize impact on non
target organisms and the environment.
Cutworms
Also
called as Darksided cutworm, Redbacked cutworm, Dingy cutworm.
Several
species of cutworms damage young sunflowers at or soon after emergence. Small,
transparent windows appearing in young leaves may be caused by small larvae not
capable of eating through the leaf. Notches in the leaves or cotyledons may
appear if sunflowers are planted into fields with existing infestations.
Life
cycle : Depending on the species, the adult lays eggs in the soil in the
late summer. Eggs remain dormant until the May/June period. Larvae emerge from
late May to early June. They continue to feed and grow until about the end of
June. When mature, larvae pupate in earthen cells near the soil surface. The
pupal period lasts about three weeks.
Damage
: Cutworm damage is caused by larval feeding and normally consists
of seedlings being cut off from 1 inch below the soil surface to as much as 1
to 2 inches above the soil surface. Young leaves also may be severely chewed
from cutworms climbing up to feed on the plant foliage. Most cutworms feed at
night. During the daytime, cutworms usually are found just beneath the soil
surface near the base of recently damaged plants. Wilted or dead plants
frequently indicate the presence of cutworms. Cut plants may dry and blow away,
leaving bare patches in the field as evidence of cutworm infestations.
Management:
- Sampling should begin as soon
as sunflower plants emerge, and fields should be checked at least twice
per week until approximately mid-June. A trowel or similar tool should be
used to dig around damaged plants to determine if cutworms are present,
since missing plants in a row do not necessarily indicate cutworm damage.
- Sowing sunflower seeds on
ridges (6-8 cm height), in cutworm endemic areas
- Release of Trichogramma
chilonus@ 20000/acre
- Apply insecticides like
Carbaryl (Sevin), chlorpyrifos etc. Do not apply chlorpyrifos again within
10 days of the first application. Do not graze or feed treated forage.
Jassids
This pest
has been reported from Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu causing crop loss up to 46 %. Widely distributed and
mostly seen at seedling stage, sometimes found almost throughout the year.
Summer crops are likely to suffer more with this pest than kharif crop.
Life
cycle : Adults are greenish yellow, wedge shaped with a pair of black
spots on vertex and a black spot on each of the forewings. Nymphs pale greenish
almost translucent and walk diagonally. Female inserts eggs into leaf veins on the
underside. Eggs hatch in 6-10 days and nymphal period is 7-9 days and the
winged adults live for 2-3 weeks. The nymphs moult five times and the whole
life cycle is completed in two weeks to more than a month and a half depending
upon the temperature and humidity prevailing in the field. It completes 7-8
generations in a year.
Damage
symptoms : The incidence would start from seedling stage and prevail right
through entire plant life. The adults and nymphs suck the sap from the leaves.
The infected leaves show pale yellow coloration. In case of heavy infestation,
the leaves turn inwards. The leaf edges turn light pinkish brown. Stunted
growth of plant, cupped and crinkled leaves, burnt appearance of leaf margins
are symptoms of damage.
Management:
- Close spacing reduces pest
infestation particularly if the rainfall is heavy.
- Apply adequate amount of
nitrogen.
- Mixed cropping of sunflower
with cotton.
- Intercropping sunflower with
groundnut in the ratio 1:4.
- Chemical control: Seed
treatment with imidacloprid 48% FS @ 5-9 ml/Kg seed and imidacloprid 70%
WS @ 7 ml/ Kg seed.
- Spray imidacloprid 17.8% SL @
40ml/acre diluted in 200 l of water.
White flies
This is a
major pest of sunflower. Highly polyphagous generally appears from November to
February. It is a serious pest in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu and Maharastra. In Tamil Nadu it found round the year.
Life
cycle : Nymphs are oval, scale like and remain attached to the leaf
surface. Adults are tiny, moth like with yellowish body and wings coated with
milky white waxy powder. Eggs are laid singly on the lower surface of the
leaves. Eggs hatch in about a week’s time. The nymph stage remains attached on
the lower surface of the leaves and takes about 4 weeks to complete
development. Number of generations varies between 12-15 per year.
Damage
: Nymphs and adults suck the sap usually from the under surface of
the leaves and excrete honeydew. Infestation causes a medium for growth of
black molds. Later, when attack is severe, vitality of the plant is lowered.
Leaves appear sickly and get coated with sooty mold. Stunted plant growth,
shedding of fruit bodies, it also transmits the leaf curl virus.
Management:
- Cultural control: Intercropping
sunflower with groundnut in the ratio of 1:4. Whiteflies can be
effectively attracted and controlled by yellow sticky traps, which are
coated with grease/sticky oily materials.
- Biological control: Spray neem
product (5% Neem oil before egg laying) or 5 Kg/acre neem kernel extract
with any sticky material
- Chemical control: Seed
treatment with imidacloprid 48% FS @ 5-9ml/Kg seed and imidacloprid 70% WS
7ml/ Kg seed.
- Spraying of imidacloprid 17.8%
SL @ 40ml/acre diluted in 200 l of water. or malathion 50% EC @ 400
ml/acre diluted in 200- 400 l of water.
- Spray Triazophos (2.5 ml/l) or
Prophanophos (2 ml/l).
- Use of Synthetic pyretheroids
increases the intensity of Whitefly.
Aphids
Polyphagous
pest, widely distributed. It is a major pest in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Cool and
humid conditions are favourable for multiplication of the pest while heavy
rains wash away the aphid colonies.
Life
cycle : Nymphs are light yellowish green or greenish black or brownish.
Adults are mostly wingless but few winged forms also seen. Winged and wingless
forms breed parthenogenetically and hence population build up is quite fast. It
has 12-14 generations per year.
Management:
- Removing nearby weeds that may
serve as a host for aphids before planting sunflowers can slow or prevent
a serious infestation.
- Aphids have several natural
predators and parasites, including lacewings, ladybugs and the syrphid
fly.
- These beneficial insects
usually provide adequate aphid control unless disrupted by a
broad-spectrum, persistent pesticide, dust or ants protecting their source
of honeydew. Regularly blasting the sunflowers with a strong spray can
knock aphids off of the plants and clear dust, honeydew and sooty mold off
leaves.
- Excessive or fast-release
nitrogen fertilizer encourages a flush of tender new growth that is
particularly attractive to aphids.
- Chemical : where an aphid infestation is particularly problematic
or the aphid predator populations are disrupted, you may have to resort to
chemical control. Thoroughly spraying the sunflowers with a narrow-range
oil, neem oil or insecticidal soap kills aphids that the material comes
into contact with, but has no lasting effect, allowing beneficial insects
to return to the area and control aphids. Repeat applications are
sometimes necessary. Applying a soap or oil to drought-stressed plants or
when the temperature exceeds 900F can injure the sunflowers.
Mealybug
Peanuts,
cotton and mungbeans are alternate hosts of mealybug.
Appearance
: Adults of the female are around 3 mm long. Female adults and
nymphs are oval-shaped and covered with a white waxy coating giving them a
mealy appearance. Males are small aphid like winged insects.
Damage
: The mealy bug nymphs and adults attack all parts of the plant
including young shoots, leaves and head. They form colonies on shoots, leaves
and head, developing into white masses. They cause direct damage by sucking
plant sap the insect also produces large quantities of honeydew which
encourages growth of black sooty mold on the leaves and twigs resulting in
reduced photosynthetic capacity.
Growth
malformation characterized by curling and crinkling of leaves. Heavy
infestations result in plant death. Infested flowers often drop and usually
there is little or no seed production. Sooty mold development on the plants and
so reduced photosynthetic activity.
Management
:
- Cultural: Flooding of orchard
with water in the month of October to kill the eggs.
- Ploughing of orchard in
November.
- Raking of soil around tree
trunk to expose the eggs to natural enemies and sun, removal of weeds
- Fastening of alkathene sheet
(400 gauge)/grease band of 25 cm wide afterwards mud plastering of trunk
at 30 cm above the ground in the middle of December.
- In July –August destruction of
fallen leaves infested with scales
- Mechanical control: Raking of
soil around tree trunk to expose the eggs to natural enemies and sun,
removal of weeds and releasing 10-15 grubs
- Biological control: Releasing
10-15 grubs of cocinellid predator, C. montrouzieri per
plant
Tobacco caterpillar
It is
major pest of sunflower. It is cosmopolitan, highly polyphagous and is reported
on sunflower in all sunflower growing areas.
Life
cycle :
Egg
masses appear golden brown. Eggs are round, white and covered with small hairs.
Larvae are pale greenish with dark markings. Larvae are gregarious in the early
stages. Pupa is brown and 1.9 cm long. Adult moth has dull brown forewings with
wavy white markings, hind wings are hyaline. Hind wing white in color with a
brown patch along the margin.
Eggs are
laid underneath the leaves in clusters (200 - 300 eggs) covered with cream
colored hairs and scales. Incubation period is 4-5 days, Larvae are gregarious
when young, later disperse having 5-6 instars. Larval period lasts for 14-21
days; pupal period is 12-14 days. Pupation takes place in the soil. Longevity
of adults is 9-10 days. Total life cycle is 35- 50 days, 6-8 generations per
year.
Damage :
Early instars
are migratory skeletonisers. The larvae feed on the tender leaves, shoots,
bracts and petals. Later, the grown up larvae spread in the field causing
defoliation. The larvae also feed on the developing seeds in capitulum.
Early
instar larvae scrape on green matter that give a mesh like appearance to
damaged leaves which can be spotted easily from a distance. Large irregular
holes on leaves, defoliation occurs in severe cases. Appearance of deseeded
heads in the field.
Management
:
- Cultural control: Intercropping
sunflower with pigeonpea
- Biological control: Spray 5%
neem seed kernel extract preferably in the evening. Spray SlNPV @
100LE/acre. Spray Clerodendrum inerme dust (25%) and plant extracts (10%).
- Chemical control: Spray
dichlorvos 76% EC @ 250ml/acre diluted in 200- 400 l of water.
Head borer
It is a
serious and destructive pest of sunflower. Itis highly polyphagous with about
183 host plants including important crop plants such as pulses, cotton,
vegetables, oilseeds etc. and the pest is prevalent throughout India.
Life
cycle :
Eggs are
spherical in shape and creamy white in colour. Larva shows colour variation
from greenish to brown. It has dark brown grey lines on the body with lateral
white lines and also has dark and pale bands. Pupa is brown in colour, occurs
in soil, leaf, pod and crop debris. Light pale brownish yellow stout moth.
Forewings are olive green to pale brown with a dark brown circular spot in the
centre. Hind wings are pale smoky white with a broad blackish outer margin.
Adult
female lays eggs singly on leaves, buds and Head. Incubation period ranges from
2 to 5 days, and the larval period lasts for 18 to 25 days. Pupation occurs in
soil and the pupal period is 10-12 days. It takes 32-60 days to complete its
life cycle. There are 8 generations per year.
Damage :
The larva
is capable of developing on foliage which is rather less common in field
situations. The larva consumes leaf in early stage of growth and move towards
the capitulum and tunnel the head. On a bloom, usually larvae on hatching get
into the bottom of the peripheral florets and feed on ovaries. During
pre-anthesis stage, they feed scraping the bracts first and later feed through
ray-florets which cover disc florets and finally find access to immature
ovaries. The larval growth is better supported by developing seeds. The larva
feeds on the developing seeds and bore the head. Fungal development
starts then and head starts rotting.
Leaves
with irregular holes, damaged heads with seeds eaten and heads rotten due to fungal
development are the common symptoms of the pest.
Management:
Cultural:
- Sow 3- 4 lines of maize around
the sunflower crop to monitor the moth. Intercropping with pigeonpea,
groundnut, finger millet and soybean.
- Sow trap crops like marigold at
50 plants/acre
- Use of pheromone traps (4
traps/acre) for pest intensity identification as well as to trap the male
moths
- Setting of light traps (1 light
trap/5 acre) to know the range of pest incidence as well as to kill moth
population
Biological:
- Release predators like
coccinellids, Chrysoperla carnea @1larva/ head.
- Release parasitoides like Trichogramma spp.
@ 20,000/acre
- Spray 5% neem oil or 5% neem
seed kernel extract
- Spray Clerodendrum
inerme dust (25%) and plant extract (10%)
- Spray HaNPV 250 LE + Bt @0.5kg/ha
for effective control
- Spray HaNPV 250 LE/ha +1 kg
Jaggery + 200ml Sandovit (or) Teepal; mixing and spray in the evening
hours only
- Spraying of 5% Neem oil or 5%
Neem Seed Kernal extract before egg laying
Chemical:
- Application of Carboryl
1kg/acre.
- Spraying of Monocrotophos 2.0
ml/l of water or Endosulfan 3 ml/l of water or Quinalphos 3ml/l of water
or Propenophos 2ml/l of water or Chlorophyriphos 2.5ml/l of water
Bihar hairy caterpillar
It is a
major pest of sunflower. It is a polyphagous pest attacking sunflower, castor,
cotton, greengram, bengalgram, maize and sunhemp. It is mainly a pest of
rabi-summer sunflower in Maharashtra.
Life
cycle : The adult is a medium sized brown moth with 40-50 mm wing span
and a red abdomen. Wings are pinkish with numerous black spots. The larvae are
covered with long yellowish to black hairs and are up to 5 cm long.
Eggs are laid in cluster of 50-100 on
underside of the leaves. Larval period varies from 14 - 21 days. Pupal diapause
is noticed. Pupation takes place in the soil under dry leaves. Generation time
is 38 - 164 days.
Damage
: The larvae are foliage feeders. Young larvae feed gregariously
mostly on the under surface of the leaves. Caterpillars feed on leaves and in
severe infestation the whole crop is defoliated. Drying up
of infected leaves is the main symptom.
Management:
Cultural:
- Pre-monsoon deep ploughing (two
to three times) will expose the hibernating pupae to sunlight and
predatory birds.
- Timely sowing and clean
cultivation.
- Removal and destruction of
alternate weed hosts which harbor the hairy caterpillars.
- Use of well rotten manures.
- Intercropping with pigeon pea
at a row ratio of 2:1 is effective in reducing the insect attack.
Mechanical:
- Collection and destruction of
leaves with eggs.
- Collection and destruction of
early instar larvae.
- Collection of infested leaves
which show characteristic drying symptoms will reduce the population to a
great extent because of the gregarious nature of young larvae
Biological:
- Conserve the natural bio
control population of spiders, long horned grasshoppers, praying mantis,
robber fly, ants, green lace wing, damsel flies/dragon flies, flower bugs,
shield bugs, lady bird beetles, ground beetles, predatory crickets,
earwigs etc.,
- Use of NPV (nuclear
polyhedrosis virus) on cloudy days @ 500 LE/ha will be effective.
- Spraying of Bacillus
thuringenesis @ 400 g/ha or 1 g/l.
- Conserve the braconids
parasites
Chemical:
- Dust Lindane 1.3% or
Fenvalarate 0.4% @ 15-20 kg/ha.
- Form a deep furrow trench
around the field and dust with two per cent methyl parathion to prevent
the mass migration of hairy caterpillars.
- Spraying of quinalphos 25 EC @
2 ml/l, or chlorpyriphos 20 EC @ 2.5 ml/l or endosulfan 35 EC @ 2.0 ml/l
is recommended when the caterpillars are younger
- Spray endosulfan 4% dust @ 20
-25 kg/ha or phosalone 35 EC @ 1000ml/ha
- Dust 2 % Methyl parathion or
Malathion @ 20 kg/ha
- Spray Methyl parathion 50 EC @
1 ml/l or Cypermethrin 10 EC @ 0.5 ml/l or Chlorpyriphos 20 EC @ 2 ml/l or
Endosulfan 35 EC @ 2 ml/l or Lambda cyhalothrin 5 EC @ 0.5 ml/l
- Spray 5 % Quinalphos 25 EC @
2ml/l
Parakeet (Bird)
It is
slim, green parakeet with the typical short, heavy, deeply hooked, red bill.
Hollow space in a tree trunk is the nest of the bid.
Damage
: The birds damage starts from the milky stage and continues till
harvest. These consumes on an average of 152 seeds/day.
Management
- Establishment of scare crows in
the field so as to distract the birds.
- Bursting of crackers and
carbide guns, tying polythene bags.
- Use of bird scaring tape
(reflective ribbon or bird scaring ribbon).
- Using bio-acoustic method like
pre-recorded distress calls to distract the birds.
- Destruction of bird nest in and
around the field.
- Deploy two labourers per
hectare to scare away the birds.
- Pruning of perching and
breeding places
- Spraying of neem kernal powder
solution at 10 g/litre of water after seed shedding repels the birds.
- Use of bird proof nets.
Source: Ravi Yugandhar Panga, Research Scholar, Acharya N.G.Ranga
Agricultural University. Usha Kiran Betha, ICAr-Indian Institute of Oilseeds
Research, Hyderabad
Sunflower-Crop Stage
Wise IPM
|
Management |
Activity |
Pre-sowing
|
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Common cultural practices:
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Nutrients |
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|
Weeds |
|
|
Soil borne diseases (Downy mildew,
Charcoal rot, Sclerotium wilt, Alternaria leaf spot, Rust) and Sunflower
necrosis virus |
Cultural control:
|
|
Thrips |
Cultural control:
|
Sowing/Seedling
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Common cultural practices: |
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Common mechanical practices:
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Nutrient management |
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Weed management |
Cultural control:
Biological control:
|
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Jassids |
Cultural control:
Mechanical control:
Biological control:
Chemical control:
|
|
Thrips |
|
|
White fly |
Cultural control:
Mechanical control:
Biological control:
Chemical control:
|
|
Tobacco caterpillar |
Cultural control:
Mechanical control:
Biological control:
Chemical control:
|
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Sunflower necrosis disease |
Cultural control:
|
|
Downy mildew |
Cultural control:
Chemical control:
|
|
Charcoal rot |
Cultural control:
|
|
Alternaria leaf
spot |
Cultural control:
|
|
Sclerotium wilt |
Cultural control:
|
|
Sclerotinia wilt and
rot |
Cultural control:
Biological control:
|
|
Note: Apply Trichoderma
viride/harzianum and Pseudomonas fluorescens for
treatment of seeds/seedlings/planting materials in the nurseries and field
application (if commercial products are used, check for label claim. However,
biopesticides produced by farmers for own consumption in their fields,
registration is not required). |
|
Vegetative stage
|
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Common cultural practices:
Common mechanical practices:
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Nutrient |
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Weed |
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Jassids |
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Thrips |
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Tobacco caterpillar |
Cultural control:
|
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Green semilooper |
Mechanical control:
Biological control:
Chemical control:
|
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Cabbage semilooper |
Biological control:
|
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Bihar hairy caterpillar |
Cultural control
Biological control:
Chemical control:
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Capitulum borer |
Cultural control:
Mechanical control:
Biological control:
|
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White fly |
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Downy mildew |
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Alternaria leaf
spot |
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Rust |
Cultural control:
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Sunflower Necrosis |
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Sclerotinia wilt and rot |
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Charcoal rot |
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Powdery mildew |
Cultural control:
Mechanical control:
|
Flowering/Seed formation stage
|
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Nutrient Management |
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Weed management |
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Tobacco caterpillar |
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Bihar hairy caterpillar |
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Capitulum/H ead borer |
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Alternaria leaf
spot |
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Rust |
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Head rot |
Cultural control:
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Birds |
Cultural control:
Mechanical control:
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Storage
|
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Store grain insect pests and seed mycoflora |
|
Note: The
pesticide dosages and spray fluid volumes are based on high volume spray.
Source: NIPHM,
and Directorate
of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage
43 ratings
Sunflower:Beneficial
insects
Natural Enemies of Sunflower Insect Pests
Parasitoids
Egg parasitoids
Larval parasitoids
Nymphal/larval and adult parasitoids
Predators
IPM for Sunflower
To know
the IPM practices for Sunflower, click here.
Source: NIPHM and Directorate
of Plant
Protection, Quarantine & Storage
27 ratings
Nutrient Deficiences
of sunflower
Nitrogen
Little new growth, yellow leaves:
this being more pronounced in older leaves. Earlier fall leaf drop. New shoots
may be red to red-brown.
Phosphorous
Overall dark green with purple,
blue or reddish cast to leaves particularly on underside, veins and stems and
some plants respond to lack of P with yellowing. Foliage may be sparse, small
and distorted becoming mottled and bronzy with maturity. Excess foliage with no
flowers can also indicate lack of P.
Potassium
Sickly looking plants, undersized
flowers and seeds, leaves showing marginal and interveinal yellowing. Yellowing
starts on older leaves and progresses upwards. Leaves may crinkle, turn brown
and roll upwards. Blossoms may be distorted and small. Plant has little
resistance to heat, cold and disease problems.
Sulphur
Plants showing paling/yellowing
of leaves. Yellowing spreads from the base to the apex. Growth of plants is
reduced. The size of capitulum is severely restricted. Inflorescence may remain
covered within the bracts. Maturity of flowers is delayed.
Boron
Under severe deficiency at about
3 weeks growth, young and middle leaves of plants develop small chlorotic
patches. Cotyledons of these plants become massive and the shoot apex becomes
globose and deformed. Later, chlorotic patches become more pronounced and
develop orange coloured necrotic areas in young leaves. Shoot apex may turn
necrotic and cease to grow. Young leaves show severe curling and distortion.
This leads to appearance of side branches bearing small leaves. Eventually all
the young leaves turn necrotic. For remedy, give directed spray of 0.2% Borax
(2g/l of water) to capitulum at ray floret opening stage.
Calcium
Young
leaves are small and distorted with curled back leaf tips. Shoots may be
stunted and show some dieback, reduced roots and shoot development. Small
distorted leaves near branch tips, and terminal buds blacken and fail to
continue to develop and reduces the seed formation.
Zinc
Light
yellow stripes along with veins of leaf blade. Under acute condition-vein
chlorosis and cessation of growth of terminal bud. Older leaves may show slight
chlorosis. Apply foliar spray of ZnSO4@0.5%.
Iron
Yellowing
of young leaves; interveinal chlorosis. Apply foliar spray of FeS4@0.5%.
IPM for Sunflower
To know
the IPM practices for Sunflower, click here.
Source: NIPHM;Directorate
of Plant
Protection, Quarantine & Storage
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Pheromones for pest
management in oilseed crops
- Introduction
- Pheromones in Pest Management
- Pheromones in Monitoring of Insect Pests
of Oilseed Crops
- Pheromones in Management of Insect Pests
of Oilseed Crops
- References
Introduction
In India,
oilseeds follow cereals, sharing 14% of the country’s gross cropped area and
accounting for nearly 3% of the gross domestic product and about 6% of the
value of all agricultural products. The productivity of oilseed crops is low in
India as compared to world and vulnerability of these oilseed crops to insect
pests is one of the main factors.
The
traditional method of control for these insect pests relies upon applications
of synthetic insecticides at regular intervals from planting to harvest. The
indiscriminate and injudicious use of wide spectrum insecticides induced
insecticide resistance in insects, pest resurgence, toxic effect on non target
organisms including natural enemies. Under such circumstances, the insecticidal
control of insect pests should be minimized by means of the population
monitoring for timely application of insecticides coinciding with vulnerable
stages of the insect pests.
Recent
studies have demonstrated potential of pheromones as a tool for monitoring pest
populations and integrated pest management.
Pheromones in Pest Management
Pheromones
are chemicals that are secreted to the outside by an individual and received by
a second individual of the same species in which they release a specific
reaction.
Based on
purpose of production, pheromones are sub-divided into several categories, the
most common types used in pest management are
- Sex pheromones are used for mate location and courtship. It is
released by one sex triggers of a series of behavior pattern in the other
sex of the species and thus facilitates mating. It is generally originate
from females and attract males for mating. In certain species of insects
the males are known to produce the sex pheromone which attracts the
females. Sex pheromones consist in individual molecules or specific blend
of compounds in a given ratio. The most studied, and used in IPM, sex
pheromones are that emitted by Lepidoptera.
- Aggregation pheromones cause insects of both sexes to crowd around the
source of the pheromone for feeding or reproduction. This may benefits
increased chances of mating, security from predation and maximum
utilization of scarce food resources. They are mainly emitted by
Coleopterous species.
- Alarm pheromone causes alarm behavior serve to rapidly disperse a
group of insects usually as a response to predation. These pheromones,
characteristic of social or gregarious insects, occur in some important
insect pests including Aphididae and Thripidae.
- Trail pheromones in social insects used mark their trails to food
and the nests.
- Host marking pheromones reduce the competition between members of the
same species, like it is observed in parasitoids that mark a host in which
they have laid an egg. Among the categories of pheromones, sex pheromones
and aggregation pheromones have been used for monitoring and management of
insect pests in oilseed crops.
Pheromones in Monitoring of Insect Pests of
Oilseed Crops
Traps
baited with pheromone lures will be helpful in early detection of pest, pest
monitoring for action thresholds/decision support, mapping pest distribution,
quarantine inspection, estimation of population dynamics and timing of management
procedures based on the threshold (Nandagopal et al., 2008).
Sex
pheromone of tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera litura) @ 10-12 traps/ha
have been recommended for the monitoring of the pest in soybean, castor,
groundnut and sunflower.
Sex
pheromone trap for gram pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera) @ 10-12
traps/ha have been recommended for the monitoring of the pest in soybean,
groundnut and sunflower.
Pheromones in Management of Insect Pests of
Oilseed Crops
Pheromones
have been successfully used in pest management through mass trapping and mating
disruption techniques. Large number of pheromone baited traps can be used in
the fields to capture males of newly emerged moths and reduce the number of
males for mating.
Sex
pheromone trap of leafminer, Aproaerema modicella @ 25
traps/ha found effective in mass trapping of the moths and reducing the
infestation in groundnut. Use of aggregating pheromones on the
preferred host of white grub beetle on community basis found effective in
management of the pest in groundnut and other crops.
The
pheromone, methoxy benzene (anisole), isolated from the abdominal glands of
calling female adults of Holotrichia consanguinea have a
unique property of acting as aggregating pheromone, attracting both the sexes
from a distance of 15 meters. Use of this pheromone has made beetle control
operation easier, economical and less hazardous as only one tree within a
radius of 15 meters is required to be sprayed with insecticide and loaded with
"Pheromone Dispensers". For the purpose, a single tree from a group
of host trees within a radius of 15 meters could be selected and sprayed with
imidacloprid 17.8 SL or quinalphos 25 EC at 1.5 ml/litre during day time.
"Pheromone Dispensers" be placed (3-4 dispensers/tree) on this host
tree in the evening, continuously for three evenings after beetle emergence.
This technique was found effective in attracting and killing of the beetles and
reducing the white grub infestation.
References
- All India Network Project on
White grubs & Other Soil Arthropods. www.ainpwhitegrubs.com.
- Cork, A. 2004. Pheromone
Manual. Natural Resources Institute, Chatham, Maritime, UK, pp. 1-73.
- Nandagopal, V., Anand Prakash
and Rao, J. 2008. Know the pheromones: Basics and its application. Journal
of Biopesticides, 1(2): 210-215.
- Srinivas, K. and Rao, P.A.
1999. Management of Spodoptera litura (F.) infesting
groundnut by mating disruption technique with synthetic sex
pheromone. Journal of Entomological Research, 23(2): 115-119.
- Saroj Singh, P.P.,
Thirumalaisamy, P., Harish, G., Ram, D., Sushil, S.N., Sinha, A.K., Asre,
R.,
- Kapoor, K.S., Satyagopal, K.,
Jeyakumar, P., Birah, A., Sharma, O.P., Bhagat, S., Verma, P.V., Kumar,
S., Chattapadhyay, C. and Yadav, M.S. Integrated Pest Management Package
for Groundnut. National Institute of Plant Health Management, Hyderabad,
India, pp. 49.
Source
: P. Duraimurugan, ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
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