Tomato

Fruit Borer

Symptoms of damage

Young larvae feed on tender foliage

Mature larvae bore circular holes

Thrust only a part of its body into fruit and eat the inner content

Identification of pest

Eggs: Eggs are sculptured and creamy white in colour, laid singly

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 band

Pupa: Brown in colour, occurs in soil, leaf, pod and crop debris

Adult: Female light pale brownish yellow stout moth, Male – Pale greenish moth V shaped speck.

Forewing: olive green to pale brown with a dark brown circular spot in the centre

Hindwing: is pale smoky white with a broad blackish outer margin

Larval damage

Adult damaged fruit

Egg

Larva

Pupa

Adult

Management

Collect and destroy the infected fruits and grown up larvae

Grow simultaneously 40 days old American tall marigold and 25 days old tomato seedling at 1:16 rows

Setup pheromone trap with Helilure at 12/ha

Collection and destruction of damaged fruits and grown up caterpillars.

Release Trichogramma pretiosum @ 1 lakh nos. /ha/release at an interval of 7 days starting from flower initiation stage based on ETL of 10% damage.

For Helicoverpa armigera: HaNPV 1.5 x 1012 POBs/ha i.e. NPV of H. armigera 0.43% AS @ 3.0 ml/lit or 2 % AS @ 1.0 ml per lit

For Spodoptera litura: Sl NPV 1.5 x 1012 POBs/ha

Provide poison bait with carbaryl 50 WP 1.25 kg, rice bran 12.5 kg, jaggery 1.25 kg and water 7.5 lit/ha

Spray Bacillus thuringiensis 2g/lit or any one of the following insecticide

Serpentine leaf miner

Symptoms of damage

Leaves with serpentine mines

Drying and dropping of leaves

Identification of pest

Larva: Minute orange yellowish apodous maggots

Pupa: Yellowish brown pupates within mines

Adult: Pale yellow in colour

Leaf mining damage

Mining in the leaf

Dried leaves

Adult

Management

Collect and destroy mined leaves

Spray NSKE 5%

Leaf eating caterpillar

Symptoms of damage

Young larva scrap leaves on ventral surface

Grownups defoliate crops

Identification of pest

Egg: Masses appear golden brown

Larva: Pale greenish with dark markings, gregarious in the early stages

Adult: Brownish in colour, Forewings are brown colour with wavy white marking, Hind wings are white colour with a brown patch along the margin

Larval feeding

Scrabbing

Foliar damage

Flower damage

Larva

Adult

Management

Plough the soil to expose and kill the pupae

Grow castor along border and irrigation channel as trap crop

Set up light trap @1/ha

Pheromone traps (Pherodin SL) @15/ ha to attract male moths

Collect and destroy egg masses in castor and tomato

Hand pick grown up larvae and kill them

Spray Sl NPV @ 1.5 X 1012 POBs / ha+2.5 Kg crude sugar+0.1 % teepol

Poison bait: Rice bran 5 Kg + Molasses or Brown sugar 500g + Carbaryl 50 WP 500g+ 3lit of water/ha. Mix the ingredients well and are kept around the field in the evening hours

Spray chlorpyriphos 20 EC 2 lit/ha or dichlorovos 76 WSC 1 lit/ha

Whitefly

Symptoms of damage

Chlorotic spots

Yellowing

Downward curling and drying of leaves

Vector of tomato leaf curl disease

Identification of pest

Egg: Pear shaped, light yellowish, stalked

Nymph: On hatching – Oval, scale-like, greenish white

Adult: White, tiny, scale-like adults

Fruit damage

Silvery damage

Tomato leaf curling

Nymphs and adult

Eggs and Adult

Management

Uproot and destroy the diseased leaf curl plants

Use nitrogen and irrigation judiciously.

Remove alternate weed host Abutilon indicum

Use yellow sticky traps at 12/ha to attract and kill insects.

Thrips

Symptoms of damage

Silvery streaks on leaf surface

Pre-mature dropping of flowers

Bud necrosis.

Vector of tomato spotted wilt virus.

Identification of pest

Nymphs: Yellowish

Adult: Dark coloured with fringed wings

Nymph

Adult

Symptom

Management

Mechanically uproot the diseased plants and destroy them

Use yellow sticky traps @ 15/ha

Release larvae of Chrysoperla cornea @10,000/ha

Spray methyl demeton 25 EC @1lit/ha or dimethoate 30 EC @1lit/ha

Striped mealybug

Symptoms of damage

Presence of white, cottony mealy bugs on the leaves and twigs

Stunted growth

Identification of pest

Crawler: Yellowish to pale white in colour

Adult: Females apterous, long, slender covered with white waxy secretion

Mealy bug on tomato plants

Management

Spray FORS 25g/lit or neem oil 0.5% along with teepol 1 ml/lit

Spray any following insecticides

Phosphomidon 40 SL 2ml/lit

Imidacloprid 80.5 SC 0.6 ml/lit

Chlorpriphos 20 EC 2ml/lit

Thiamethoxam 25 WSG 0.6 mg/lit

Profenophos 2ml/lit

Red spider mite

Symptoms of damage

Affected leaves become reddish brown and bronzy

Severe infestation larvae silken webbing on the leaves, wither and dry

Flower and fruit formation affected

Identification of pest

Eggs: Hyaline, globular laid in mass

Nymphs: Yellowish in colour

Adult: Red coloured small sized

Infestation on tomato

Red spider mite

Management

Spray wettable sulphur 50 WP 2g/lit or dicofol 18.5 EC 2.5 ml/lit

Pinworm

Symptoms of damage

Mining of leaves, stem and pinholes on fruits

Pinhole in fruit

Symptoms

Larvae

Adult

Management

Collect and destroy the pinworm affected plants and fruits

Avoid solanaceous crops after tomato

Use healthy seedlings for transplanting

Keep pheromone traps @ 16 nos./ac to attract and kill the adult moths

If needed, spray Chlorantraniliprole 18.5% SC @ 60 ml or Cyantraniliprole 10% OD @ 60 ml or Flubendiamide 20% WG @ 60 ml or Indoxacarb 14.5% SC @ 100ml or Neem formulation (Azadirachtin 1% or 5%) @ 400 – 600 ml/ac.

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