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Cucurbits

Fruit flies

Symptoms of damage

Maggots feed on the pulp of the fruits
Oozing of resinous fluid from fruits
Distorted and malformed fruits
Premature dropping of fruits and also unfit for consumption
Drying of terminal shoot in early stage
Frass comes out from several points and some times sap oozes out of the holes
Wilting of branches or entire tree

Identification of pest

Eggs: Laid singly in clusters on fruits

Larva: Dirty white apodous maggot

Pupa: Pupate in soil

Bactrocera cucurbitae: Hyaline wings with brown and grey spots at the apex

Bactrocera ciliates: Ferruginous brown body. Smaller than Bactrocera cucurbitae

Management

Collect infested and fallen fruits and bum in deep pits.
In endemic areas, change the sowing date as the fly population is low in hot dry conditions and at its peak during rainy season
Expose the pupae by ploughing and turning over soil after harvest
Use ribbed gourd as trap crop and apply carbaryl 0.15% or malathion 0.1% on congregating adult flies on the undersurface of leaves.
Use attractants like citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, vinegar (acetic acid), and lactic acid to trap flies.
Use poison baiting in severe infestation
Mix methyl eugenol + malathion 50 EC at 1:1 ratio and keep 10 ml of the bait in polythene bags @ 25/ha.
Use fly trap
Keep 5 g of wet fishmeal in polythene bags (20 x 15cm) with six holes (3 mm dia)
Add 0.1 ml of dichlorvos.
Dichlorvos should be added every week and fishmeal renewed once in 20 days @ 5traps/ha.

Pumpkin Beetles

Symptoms of damage

Grubs feeds on the roots, stem and fruits touching the soil
Adult feeds on leaf and flowers.

Identification of pest

Grub: Freshly hatched dirty white, fully grown grub creamy yellow in colour

Aulacophora foveicollis: red in colour

A. cincta: grey in colour having glistening yellow red border

A. intermedia: blue in colour

Management

Plough the fields just after harvesting destroy the hibernating adults
Collect and destroy adult beetles
Spray malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml or dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml or methyl demeton 25 EC@ 500 ml/ ha

Stem borer or clear winged moth

Symptoms of damage

Larva bores into the stem of snake gourd and produces galls

Identification of pest

Larva: White in colour

Pupa: Pupation takes place in earthen cocoon in the soil

Adult: Dark brown moth with transparent wings

Management

Collect and destroy the damaged plant parts with larvae
Encourage activity of parasitoid: Apanteles spp.
Spray any following insecticides
malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml
dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml
methyl demeton 25 EC @ 500 ml/ ha

Stem gall fly

Symptoms of damage

Maggots bore into the distal shoot and form galls

Identification of pest

Adult: slender dark brown mosquito like fly

Management

Spray any following insecticides
Malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml
Dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml
Methyl demeton 25 EC @ 500 ml/ ha

Snake gourd semilooper

Symptoms of damage

The caterpillar cuts the edges of leaf lamina, folds it over the leaf and feeds from within leaf roll

Identification of pest

Egg: White spherical eggs laid singly on tender leaves

Larva: Green in colour with longitudinal white stripe, humped last abdominal segments

Pupae: Pupation takes place inside the leaf fold

Adult: Brown moth with shiny brown forewings

Management

Collect and destroy the caterpillars
Encourage activity of Apanteles taragamae, A. plusiae
Spray any following insecticides
Malathion 50 EC @500 ml/ha
Dimethoate 30 EC @500 ml/ha
Methyl demeton 25 EC @500 ml/ha

Pumpkin caterpillar

Symptoms of damage

Young larva scrapes the cholorophyll content
Later on it folds and webs the leaves and feeds within
It also feeds on flowers and bores into developing fruits

Identification of pest

Egg: Eggs lay singly or in groups on lower surface of leaves

Larva: Bright green with a pair of white mid dorsal lines

Pupa: Pupation takes place inside a cocoon among the leaves

Adult: Whitish wings with broad and dark marginal patches. Female with tuft of orange coloured hairs at anal end.

Management

Collect and destroy early stage caterpillars
Encourage activity of parasioid: Apanteles spp.
Spray any following insecticides
Malathion 50 EC @500 ml/ha
Dimethoate 30 EC @500 ml/ha
Methyl demeton 25 EC @500 ml/ha

Bottle gourd plume moth

Symptoms of damage

Larva feeds on leaves making small holes

Identification of pest

Egg: Eggs are laid singly on buds and leaves

Larva: Small, cylindrical and yellowish green with short spines all over body

Pupa: Greenish brown pupa

Adult: Slender moth with lobed wings, fringed with scales

Management

Collect and destroy larvae and pupae
Spray any following insecticides
Malathion 50 EC @500 ml/ha
Dimethoate 30 EC @500 ml/ha
Methyl demeton 25 EC @500 ml/ha

Leaf miner

Symptoms of damage

Leaves with serpentine mines.
Drying and dropping of leaves due to severe infestation.

Identification of pest

Larva: Minute orange yellowish apodous maggots.

Pupa: Pupates within mines.

Adult: Pale yellow in colour

Management

Collect and destroy mined leaves
Spray NSKE 3%