Spodoptera litura on tomato

SPODOPTERA LITURA ON TOMATO ,LIFE CYCLE,MANAGEMENT PRACTICES,ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING ,PREDETORS AND PARASITOIDS

1. Spodoptera litura on Tomato By Sugandhan P M

2. Introduction Occurrence: Tropical and subtropical parts of the world, wide spread in India. Host: tomato, cotton , castor, groundnut, tobacco, cabbage and various other cruciferous crops . Order : Lepidoptera Family : Noctuidae Scientific name : Spodoptera litura Common name : Tobacco caterpillar asian cotton leafworm , oriental leafworm moth, cluster caterpillar

3. Life cycle( 32-60 days) About 8 generations in a year

4. Egg Female lays about 300 eggs in clusters. The eggs are covered by brown hairs. They hatch in about 3-5 days.

5. Larva Caterpillar measures 35-40 mm in length, when full grown. Appearance:Velvety , black with yellowish – green dorsal stripes and lateral white bands with incomplete ring – like dark band on anterior and posterior end of the body. It passes through 6 instars. Larval stage - 15-30 days

6. Pupa Pupation takes place inside the soil. Pupal stage lasts 7-15 days

7. Moth Medium sized and stout bodied Forewings pale grey to dark brown in colour having wavy white crisscross markings. Hind wings are whitish with brown patches along the margin of wing. Pest breeds throughout the year. Moths are active at night. Adults live for 7-10 days.

8. Damage symptoms In early stages, the caterpillars are gregarious and scrape the chlorophyll content of leaf lamina giving it a papery white appearance. Later they become voracious feeders making irregular holes on the leaves. Irregular holes on leaves initially and later skeletonization leaving only veins and petioles h eavy defoliation. Bored fruits with irregular holes

9. CULTURAL PRACTICES Deep ploughing. Summer ploughing. Proper spacing. Intercropping Collect and destroy crop debris Provide irrigation at critical stages of the crop . Avoid water logging Avoid water stress during flowering stage Field sanitation

10. MECHANICAL PRACTICES Collection and destruction of eggs and early stages of larvae. Handpick the older larvae during early stages of plant . The infested shoots be collected and destroyed . Handpick the gregarious caterpillars and the cocoons which are found on stem and destroy them in kerosene mixed water. Use light trap @ 1/acre and operate between 6 pm and 10 pm. Install pheromone traps @ 4-5/acre for monitoring adult moths activity (replace the lures with fresh lures after every 2-3 weeks). Erecting of bird perches @ 20/acre for encouraging predatory birds such as King crow, common mynah etc.

11. Ecological Engineering of Tomato Intercrops :Cowpea, onion, maize, coriander, urdbean Guard/barrier crop :Grow 4 rows of maize/sorghum/ bajra around the field Repellant crop : Basil Attractant plants : Carrot, sunflower, buck wheat, alfalfa, corn, shrubs (minute pirate bug and lacewing) nectar rich plants with small flowers ie anise, caraway, dill, parsely , mustard, sunflower, buck wheat and cowpea (wasp).

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13. Biological control Stages Prasitoid Egg Trichogramma chilonis Tetrastichus spp Telenomus spp Chelonus formosanus Larvae Chelonus formosanus Carcelia spp Campoletis chlorideae Eriborus argentiopilosus Microplitis sp Bracon brevicornis Pupa Ichneumon  sp Chelonus sp

14. Chrysoperla Coccinellids King crow Reduviid bug Dragonfly, Spiders Robber fly Praying mantids Predators

15. Pathogens Pathogens Name Stages Protozoa Nosema carpocapsae   Larva Fungi Aspergillus flavus ,  Beauveria bassiana , Nomuraea rileyi   Metarhizium anisopliae Larva Viruses Nuclear polyhedrosis viruses  Granulosis virus  Egg to larva Bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis Larva Nematodes Ovomermis albicans ,  Hexamermis  sp. Pentatomermis  sp. Steinernema   sp Larva

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