Pests of Guava (life cycle ,damage symptoms,management)

Pests of Guava
Tea mosquito bug
Fruit fly
Fruit borer
Castor capsule borer
Mealy bug
Bark eating caterpillar

1. Pests of Guava Mr.Khushwinder Singh Assistant Professor Guru Kashi University Talwandi Sabo,Punjab

2. Tea mosquito bug Scientific name : Helopeltis antoni Family: Miridae Order:Hemiptera

3. Life Cycle Egg : Eggs are cylindrical and slightly curved with two filamentous structures at one end. female bug can lay about 60 - 80 eggs during its life time. Egg period 6-12 days depending on the weather factors Nymph : The nymphal stage consists of five instars.Reddish brown nymphal period 11-13 days depending on the weather factors Adult : : The adult bug is 5.5-8.0 mm in length with brownish-yellow pronotum and green abdomen. The body is slender and elongated with yellowish-brown or olive green head, dark red thorax and yellow and greenish-black abdomen.

4. Damage symptoms : Tea mosquito bug is a low density pest and a small population is sufficient to cause conspicuous damage Nymphs and Adults make punctures on petiole, tender shoots and fruits Brownish – black patches develop on the foilage Elongate streaks and patches develop on shoots Rusty corky growth formation on fruits Drying of the shoots Flower and shedding of fruits is witnessed

5. Management : Under take pruning to regulate the shade to facilitate proper penetration of sunlight inside the conopy Monocrotophos 36WSC @2.5 L in 1500-2000L water Spray endosulfan 35EC Or Carbaryl 50 WP @2.5 kg in 1500-2000Lwater per ha Four species of egg parasitoids viz., Telenomus cuspis sp. nov. Rajmohana and Srikumar ( Platigasteridae ), Chaetostricha sp. ( Trichogrammatidae ), Erythmelus helopeltidis Gahan ( Mymaridae ) and Gonatocerus sp. were recorded on TMB. Among them, T. cuspis is the dominant one. Besides, nymphal - adult parasitoid ( Leiophron sp., [ Braconidae ]), ectoparasitic mite ( Leptus sp.) and nematode parasitoids were also recorded. But, none of these parasitoids are amenable for laboratory rearing

6. Fruit fly Scientific name : Bactrocera diversus B.correcta Family : Tephritidae Order : Diptera

7. Life Cycle Egg : Under optimum conditions a female can lay more than 3000 eggs during her life time. egg period 1-4 days Maggot : Maggot pale cream, cylindrical, 5-8 mm in length, larval period 4-5 days The mature larva emergs from the fruit, drops the ground and from a tan to dark brown puparium . Pupa : pupation occur in soil about 9 days are required for attainnent of sexual maturity after the adult fly emerges Adult : Smoky brown with greenish black thorax having yellow markings Development from egg to adult under summer conditions requires about 16 days

8. Damage symptoms Adults and maggots attack semi –ripe fruit Maggots destroy and convert pulp into a bad smell The infestation causes rotting and dropping of fruit Oviposition punctures on fruits Maggots destroy and convert pulp into a bad smelling Discoloured semi liquid mass

9. Management Collect and destroy the damaged plant parts Summer plough to expose and kill pupae Spray fenvalerate 20EC 1L Or endosulfan 35EC in 1500-2000L water per ha Rake the sail around the tree and apply lindane dust 1.3D @25 kg per ha Use methyl eugenol lure trap (25/ha) to monitor and kill adults of fruit flies Prepare methyl eugenol and malathion 50 EC mixture at 1:1 ratio( take 10 ml mixture/ trap Bait spray combining molasses or jaggery 10g/l and one of the insecticides, malathion 50 EC 2 ml/l dimethoate 30 EC 1ml/lit, two rounds at fortnight interval before ripening of fruits Field release of parasitoids such as Opius compensatus Spalangia philippinensis , parasitoid wasp,  Diachasmimorpha kraussi

10. Fruit borer Scientific name : V irachola isocrates Family : Lycaenidae Order : Lepidoptera

11. Egg : shiny white, oval shaped eggs laid singly on calyx of flower and tender fruits egg period 7-10 days Larva : Dark brown having short hairs and white patches all over the body. Larval period 18-47 days Pupa : larva pupate inside the fruit. Pupal period7-34 days. Adult : Male glossy, bluish violet, female brownish violet with an orange patch on forewing. Female – V shaped patch on forewing

12. Damage symptoms Caterpillar bores into young fruits Feeds on internal contents (pulp and seeds) The caterpillar may cause rotting inside the fruit. It is only when the grown up caterpillar comes out , a round hole is seen Juice will ooze out of the hole

13. Management Collect and destroy damaged fruits Clean cultivation as weed plants serve as alternate hosts Endemic areas - grow less susceptible varieties Adopt ETL (5 eggs/plant) Cover the fruit with polythene bags when the fruits are up to 5 cm Use light trap @ 1/ ha to monitor the activity of adults Insecticides: malathion 50 EC 0.1% or dimethoate 30 EC 0.06%, two rounds, one at flower formation and next at fruit set. Flowering stage - spray NSKE 5% or neem formulations 2 ml/1 Apply dimethoate 30 EC 1.5 ml/1. Release  Trichogramma chilonis   at one lakh/acre

14. Castor capsule borer Scientific name : Conogethes punctiferalis Family : P yraustidae Order : Lepidopera

15. Life cycle Egg : Pink coloured eggs laid singly on buds. Egg period 6-7 days Larva : Larva measures 24 mm when fully grown. Larva is pale green with pinkish tinge and fine hairs with dark head and prothoracic shield. Larva lives under a cover of silk, frass and excreta. Larval period is 12-16 day Pupa : P upation inside the fruit pupal period 4-12days Adult : Medium sized bright orange- yellow colour has numerous black dots on wings

16. Damage symptoms Caterpillar bores into young fruits but they may also bore buds and tender shoots Feeds on internal contents (pulp and seed) Infected fruits dry up and fall off without ripening The affected fruits are generally deformed at the point of entry of larva

17. Management Collect and destroy the damage plant parts Use light traps 1/ha to monitor the activity of adults Spray malathion 50EC at 3L in 1500-2000L water pee ha two rounds one at flower formation and next at fruit set Spray any one of the following insecticides, thrice from flowering at three weeks interval Malathion 50 EC 2.0 l/ha Carbaryl 50 WP 2.0 kg/ha in 1000 l of water

18. Mealy bug Scientific name : Ferrisia virgata Family: P seudococcidae Order: Hemiptera

19. Life Cycle Egg : female lay 350-500 eggs orange coloured in loose cottony terminal ovisac . The egg period was 28-32days. Female and male adults live for 23 to 28 days, respectively. Pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods is 6-7, 8.-9and 1-2 days, respectively. The reproduction took place both sexually as well as parthenogenetically Nymph : Nymph orange coloured female and males with 3-4 nymphal instars. the total nymphal period is 21 to 29 days Adult : Adult females pinkish and covered with white wax The total life span of female and male 46 -49nd 23 -29 days

20. Damage symptoms The tiny small bug usually suck sap from twigs, leaves, and flower Infested fruits will have uneven shapes poor quality, and are susceptible to secondary infections by pathogens .

21. Management Avoid spraying methyl parathion, carbaryl , monocrotophos etc. As they are toxic to predators Release Cryptolaemous montrouzieri beetles @ 10/tree. Triozhophos 2 ml+ neem oil 5 ml/1, phosalone 35 EC 1.5 ml+ neem oil 5 ml/1. Soil application of Thimet and banding the tree trunk with polyethylene film will prevent the nymph to climb up from the soil. Spraying 400-ml neem oil with 50-ml liquid soap in 10 liters of water and repeating the spray after 10 days has been found effective.

22. Bark eating caterpillar Scientific name : Indarbela quadrinotata Family : C ossidae Order: L epidoptera

23. Life Cycle Eggs :  Eggs are laid under loose bark or in cracks clusters . Eggs hatch in 8-11 days. Eggs are oval in shape and reddish in colour. Larval :  Caterpillars are pinkish white with brown spots and are about 40mm long. Larval duration is of 8-10 months. Pupal :  Pupae are brown in colour and 22 to 28 mm long, Pupal period is 21- 41 days. Total life cycle lasts 4-5 months Adult :  Moths are white with pairs of small black dots on thorax, numerous small black spots and streaks on fore wings and few black spots on posterior edges of hind wings.

24. Damage symptoms The infestation of the pest may be identified by the presence of irregular tunnels and patches covered with silken web consisting of excreta and chewed up wood particles on the shoots, branches, stem and main trunk. Holes on the trunk, Wood dust and faecal matter hanging in the form of a web around the affected portion. Severe damage can result in the death of attacked stem.

25. Management Remove and destroy dead and severely affected branches of the tree Remove alternate host, silk cotton and other hosts Swab Coal tar + Kerosene @ 1:2 or Carbaryl 50 WP 20 g / lit of water on the basal portion of the trunk up to 3 feet height Scraping the loose bark to prevent oviposition of adult beetles If infestations are severe then apply the copper oxychloride paste on the trunk of the tree. Hook out the grub from the bore hole Apply carbofuran 3G 5 g per hole and plug with mud .

26. Thank you . . ◇