BRINJAL
Shoot and fruit borer Leucinodes orbonalis (Pyraustidae: Lepidoptera)
- Leucinodes orbonalis is the most important and destructive pest of brinjal.
- It starts damaging brinjal plant, few weeks after transplantation.
- Larva bores into tender shoots and causes withering of terminal shoots or dead hearts.
- It also bores into petioles of leaves, flower buds and developing fruits causing withering of leaves, shedding of buds and making fruits unfit for consumption.
- Attacked fruits are with boreholes plugged with excreta.
- It causes up to 70% loss.
- Larva is stout, pink-coloured with sparsely distributed hairs on warts on the body and brownish head.
- Pupation takes place in a tough grey cocoon on the plant itself.
- Adult has brownish and red markings on the whitish fore wings.
Stem borer Euzophera perticella (Phycitidae: Lepidoptera)
- This is also a major pest of brinjal. It also attacks chilli and tomato.
- Larva bores into main stem at leaf or branch axil
- holes covered with excreta and frass and moves downwards.
- Top shoots of young plants droop and wither.
- Older plants become stunted and fruit-bearing capacity is adversely affected.
- Adult has greyish brown fore wing with transverse lines in the middle and white hind wings.
- Yellowish larva with red head
- Pupation is within a silken cocoon inside Larvae tunnel.
Spotted leaf beetle or Hadda beetle Epilachna spp. (Coccinellidae: Coleoptera)
- They breed on brinjal, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, snake gourd, beans, potato and tomato.
- Both adult and grubs cause considerable damage to the leaves by scraping away chlorophyll from epidermal layers of leaves which get skeletonized and gradually dry away.
- Adults are active fliers and move from plant to plant. Grubs are persistent on the leaves and occur in large numbers.
- Adults are hemispherical in shape, pale brown in colour and with black spots.
- Female lays elongate, spindle-shaped yellowish eggs in clusters on the lower surface of leaves.
- Grubs are yellowish in colour, stout with spines all over the body.
- Pupa is yellowish with spines on the posterior part and the anterior portion being devoid of spines.
Leaf roller Antoba olivacea (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)
- It is a common foliage pest of brinjal.
- Moths are medium sized.
- Brown fore wing has an olive green triangular patch on outer area.
- Caterpillars fold leaves from tip to downwards and feed within by scrapping the green matter.
- Folded leaves wither and dry up.
- Pupation takes place within the folds.
- Full-grown caterpillar is stout, purple-brown coloured and with yellow spots and hairs.
Cotton leafhopper or Jassid Amrasca devastans (Cicadellidae: Hemiptera)
- It is more common and destructive pest of brinjal.
- It also infests cotton, tomato and bhendi.
- It is a vector for transmitting brinjal mosaic virus disease.
- Nymphs are light green translucent and found in between leaf veins on the undersurface of leaves.
- They move in a diagonal manner when disturbed. Adults are wedge shaped, green in colour.
- Both nymphs and adults suck the cell sap from ventral side of leaves and inject toxic saliva into the plant tissues and cause yellowing of leaves followed by crinkling and curling of leaves, leading to bronzing and hopper burn. Plants become stunted and killed.
Brinjal Brown Leaf Hopper Cestius Phycitis ( cicadellidae : Hemiptera)
- It is also a serious pest of brinjal as it is a vector of most important disease, called little leaf of brinjal.
- Nymphs and adults suck cell sap from ventral side of leaves and inject toxic saliva into the plant tissues and cause reduction in the size of leaves, shortened petiole, excessive growth of branches, general stunting of plants, conversion of floral parts into leafy structures and give the plants a bushy appearance.
- Fruiting is rare.
- Adult is small and brown in colour.
Spiny Lacewing bugs Urentius hystricellus (Tingidae: Hemiptera)
- It is a specific pest on brinjal. Brownish adults suck sap from upper surface of the leaves and nymphs from lower surface.
- Affected leaves become yellowish and covered with nymphal exuviae and excreta and dry up.
- Female inserts eggs into the leaf tissues.
Ash weevils Myllocerus spp. (Curculionidae: Coleoptera)
- Ash coloured adult weevils feed on leaves by irregular notching
- Grubs feed on roots and cause wilting and death of plants.
- It pupates in earthen cocoons.
Aphids Aphis gossypii and Myzus persicae (Aphididae: Hemiptera
)
- These plant lice are polyphagous pests.
- Both nymphs and adults suck cell sap from leaves and tender apical shoots.
- Affected parts turn yellow, get deformed and dry away.
- Aphids also secrete copious quantity of honeydew on which sooty mould grows rapidly.
- Infected plants become weak, pale and stunted in growth and results in reduced fruit size.
- Nymphs of A. gossypii are greenish-brown or yellowish and have a pair of cornicles. M. persicae is greenish or pale brown to pinkish.
- Reproduction is by parthenogenetic viviparous and found in colonies on the underside of leaves.
Bud worm Scrobipalpa blapsigona (Gelechiidae: Lepidoptera)
Caterpillar bores into tender buds and prevents fruit formation. Symptoms include shriveling and shedding of flower buds.
Leaf miners Scrobipalpa ergasima (Gelechiidae: Lepidoptera)
Larva mines into the veins of leaves, mid ribs, leaf stalks resulting in gall-like swelling and blotches especially near leaf tips. Larva is green in colour. Adult is a small brown moth.
Leaf webber Psara bipunctalis (Pyraustidae: Lepidoptera)
Caterpillars initially scrap epidermal tissues, later web leaves with silken strands and feed on the ventral surface of leaves resulting skeletonization of leaves. Caterpillars are stout, greenish in colour. Moths are straw coloured having black dots and wavy lines on all wings.
Hairy caterpillars Selepa celtis and S. docilis (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)
Caterpillars are yellowish in colour, having a lateral reddish line with a series of black spots. They feed gregariously on dorsal surface of leaves. Moths are medium sized with head and thorax of pale brown colour and abdomen fuscous.
Coreid bug Anoplocnemis phasiana (Coreidae: Hemiptera)
Nymphs and adults suck sap from tender shoots. Infested shoots wither and leaves dry up.
Grasshoppers
- Nymphs and adults feed on leaf lamina completely, leaving behind only network of veins and midribs.
- Poekilocerus pictus (Acrididae: Orthoptera): Adult is a larger one, bluish green with yellow stripes on the body and wings. It commonly occurs and attacks on Calotropis and may attack brinjal when former is exhausted.
- Atractomorpha crenulata is green coloured grasshopper.
- Oxya japonica is a smaller one and green in colour.
Death’s head moth or sphingid Acherontia styx (Sphingidae: Lepidoptera):
- It is a stout caterpillar with green and yellowish oblique stripes and curved anal horn. Adult is a giant hawk moth, brownish in colour with characteristic skull marking on the thorax; violet and yellow bands on the abdomen; yellowish hind wing with black markings. Larva feed on leaf lamina completely.
Brinjal mealy bug Coccidohystrix insolita (Pseudococcidae: Hemiptera)
- This mealy bug in large numbers infests old plants.
- It is small, oval, soft-bodied insect, covered with white mealy wax.
- Hundreds of mealy bugs cover leaves and tender shoots.
- They suck cell sap causing yellowing, wilting and drying of affected leaves
Scales Aonidiella aurantii (Diaspididae: Hemiptera)
It is known as citrus red scale. Adult females are flat and circular in shape, reddish in colour and apodous. Males are elongate and winged. Reproduction is by ovo-viviparous. They suck cell sap causing yellowing, wilting and drying of affected leaves and devitalize plants.
Thrips (Thripidae: Thysanoptera)
Thrips tabaci and Scirtothrips dorsalis: Both nymphs and adults lacerate leaf tissues and lap oozing sap. As a result, whitish silvery patches appear on infested leaves.
Frankliniella schultzei, feed on flowers and causes drying and premature shedding of flowers and as a result fruit setting is affected.
Plume moth Pterophorous lienigianus (Pterophoridae: Lepidoptera)
Mite Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Tetranychidae: Acarina)
