Tea

Tea mosquito bug

Symptoms of damage

Adults and nymphs suck the sap from buds, young leaves and tender stems

Puncturing the plant tissues with their needle like rostrum and inject toxic saliva.

Punctures appear as reddish brown spots.

Leaves curl up, badly deformed and shoots dry up.

Identification of pest

Adult - black colour with red thorax, black and white abdomen and greenish brown wings.

Management

Spray Clothianidin 50 WDG 120 g/ha or Thiacloprid 21.7 SC 375 ml/ha or Thiamethoxam 25 WG 100g/ha or Bifenthrin 8 SC 500 ml/ha

Looper cater pillar

Symptoms of damage

Young caterpillars feed on the tender leaves - making punctures

Mature larvae prefer older leaves.

Grown up larvae feed entire leaf

Severe infestation - tea bushes are completely denuded.

Identification of pest

Larva - dark brown with pale yellowish white lines on the back and sides.

Adult - grey wings speckled with light brown or black markings and irregular wavy yellow lines.

Management

Spray NSKE 5% (or) neem based oil formulations 3%

Spray any one of the following insecticides phosalone (or) chlorpyriphos (or) fenitrothion (or) malathion 2ml/lit. or Deltamethrin 2.8 EC 10 – 150 ml/ha

Lobster Caterpillar

Symptoms of damage

Two or three caterpillars can completely devour all the leaves from a small plant in two or three days.

Identification of pest

Eggs are white and finely sculptured

Larva – black colour, resembles on dry leave

Adult - Greyish white wings and reddish brown spots on the forewings.

Management

Hand collection and destruction

Spray Deltamethrin 2.8 EC 10 – 150 ml/ha

Flush worm

Symptoms of damage

Caterpillar ties up the margin of tender leaves and forms a case enclosing the bud.

Feed on the upper epidermis of leaves.

Affected leaves - rough, crinkled and leathery.

Bud - Shoot growth is arrested.

Identification of pest

Eggs are pale yellow and lay singly on the under surface of mature leaves

Larva – brown in colour.

Adult is very small moth, blackish brown in colour.

Management

Spray chlorpyriphos or fenitrothion 2 ml/lit.

Tea tortix

Symptoms of damage

Caterpillars make leaf nests by webbing the leaves using silken threads

Feed from inside the leaf nest.

Young larvae prefer tender leaves

Older larvae are seen in mature leaves.

Identification of pest

Larva - green in colour

Pupae - initially green colour and turns to reddish brown

Adult - brown coloured and bell shaped in outline.

Management

Spray chlorpyriphos or fenitrothion 2 ml/lit.

Shot hole borer

Symptoms of damage

Presence of round shot holes in primary branches.

The attack results in mortality of buds and dieback symptoms in branches.

Presence of circular or longitudinal tunnels inside the stem.

Identification of pest

Female - small, black colour and long beetle.

Male is half the size of female, devoid of wings.

Management

Remove and destroy affected twigs.

Red spider mite

Symptoms of damage

Infest the upper surface of mature leaves.

Infestation starts along midrib and veins and spreads to the entire upper surface of leaves.

Affected leaves - bronzed, dry and crumpled.

Identification of pest

Eggs are reddish in colour and spherical in shape

Adult - female is elliptical in shape bright crimson anteriorly and dark puplish brown posteriorly.

Management

Spray any one of the following Insecticides

Azadirachtin 5 W/W 200 ml/ha

Bifenthrin 8 SC 500 ml/ha

Dicofol 18.5 EC 1250 ml/ha

Ethion 50 EC 500 ml/ha

Etoxazole 10 SC 400 ml/ha

Fenazaquin 10 EC 1000 ml/ha

Fenpyroximate 5 EC 300 - 600 ml/ha

Propargite 57 EC 750 – 1250 ml/ha

Spiromesifen 22.9 SC 400 ml/ha

Scarlet mite

Symptoms of damage

Mites congregate on the under surface of mature tea leaves

Feeding by scarlet mites leads to brown discolouration of leaves.

Identification of pest

Eggs - are bright red colour and elliptical in shape

Adult - scarlet red in colour and ovate in shape.

Management

Spray Fenazaquin 10 EC 1000 ml/ha or Hexythiazox 5.45 EC 300 – 500 ml/ha or Propargite 57 EC 750 – 1250 ml/ha or Dicofol 18.5 EC 1250 ml/ha

Purple mite

Symptoms of damage

Mites feed on the under surface of mature leaves.

Assam type of tea - more susceptible to purple mite.

Damaged leaves - coppery brown discolouration

Identification of pest

Adult - very small, spindle shaped and dark puple in colour

Five longitudinal white waxy ridges on the dorsal side.

Management

Spray any one of the following Insecticides

Dicofol 18.5 EC 1250 ml/ha

Ethion 50 EC 500 ml/ha

Fenazaquin 10 EC 1000 ml/ha

Fenpyroximate 5 EC 300 – 600 ml/ha

Flumite 20 SC or Flufenzine 20SC 400 – 500ml/ha

Phosalone 35 EC 1028 ml/ha

Propargite 57 EC 750 - 1250 ml/ha

Pink mite (or) Orange mite

Symptoms of damage

Mites are found on the under surface (abaxial) of young leaves.

Affected leaves turn pale and upward curling.

In severe infestation, leaves become leathery and brown.

Damage - restricted to top 10 – 15 cm of tender leaves.

Assam type of tea is susceptible.

Identification of pest

Adult - very minute, orange coloured and carrot shaped.

Management

Spary any one of the following insecticides

Ehion 2ml/ lit of water

Azadirachtin 5 EC 200 ml/ha

Dicofol 18.5 EC 1250 ml/ha

Fenazaquin 10 EC 1000 ml/ha

Fenpyroximate 5 EC 300 – 600 ml/ha

Flumite 20 SC / Flufenzine 20SC 400 – 500 ml/ha

Phosalone 35 EC 1028 ml/ha

Propargite 57 EC 750 – 1250 ml/ha

Spary wettable sulphur 2gram/lit of water

Yellow mite

Symptoms of damage

Mite is seen on young leaves especially the top two to three leaves and the bud.

Affected leaves become rough and brittle and corky lines

Downward curling

Intermodes get shortened,

Shoots - stunted and deformed.

Identification of pest

Male mites are small and white to pale yellow in colour.

Females are yellowish and bigger than the males.

Yellow mites are active and fast moving mite.

Management

Spray dicofol 18EC 2 ml/lit or ethion 50 EC 2 ml/lit

Application of wettable sulphur 80 WP 2g/lit using hand operated sprayer.

Thrips

Symptoms of damage

Thrips prefer young leaves and buds.

Leaf surface becomes uneven, curled and matty.

Feeding marks on the unopened buds - parallel brown lines on the leaves.

Identification of pest

Adults - brown abdomen.

Management

Spary any one of the following insecticides

Dimethoate 30 EC 2 ml/lit.

Chlorpyriphos 20 EC 2 ml/lit.

Deltamethrin 2.8 EC 120 – 150 ml/ha

Azadirachtin 5 W/W 200 ml/ha

Quinalphos 25 EC 760 ml/ha

Aphid

Symptoms of damage

Pruning - colonies of aphids are seen on tender shoots of tea immidiately after pruningLeaves curl up and shoot growth is stunted.

Aphids are attended by ants.

Honey dew secreted development of sooty moulds.

Identification of pest

Dark brown aphids

Management

Collect and destroy the infested plant parts

Spray Dimethoate 30 EC (or) Chlorpyriphos 20 EC 2 ml/lit. (or) Phosalone 2 ml/lit.

Source: https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/