BHENDI
Shoot and fruit borer Earias vittella, E. insulana (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)
- It is commonly known as cotton spotted bollworm and a major pest of bhendi.
- It is infesting okra, cotton and other malvaceous wild and cultivated plants.
- Summer bhendi suffers heavily by this pest, after which, it migrates to cotton.
- Caterpillars bore into tender shoots and tunnel downwards.
- Shoots wither; droop and growing points are destroyed.
- Caterpillars also bore into buds, flowers and fruits and feed on inner tissues. Damaged buds and flowers wither and fall down.
- Damaged fruits become deformed in shape and remain stunted in growth.
- Eggs are spherical, light bluish-green in colour and sculptured, are laid singly on shoot tips, buds, flowers and fruits.
- Caterpillars are chocolate-brown in colour and bluntly rounded.
- Full-grown caterpillars pupate in an inverted boat shaped cocoon.
- Adults are medium sized moths, fore wings are pale-white with a broad wedge-shaped horizontal green patch in the middle, and the hind wings are cream-white in colour.
- E. insulana: Adults are smaller than E. vittella. Head and thorax are pea-green in colour and fore wings are uniformly pale yellowish-green.
Whitefly Bemisia tabaci
(Aleyrodidae: Hemiptera):
- Vector of yellow vein mosaic disease
Leaf hopper Amrasca devastans (Cicadellidae: Hemiptera)
Aphids Aphis gossypii (Aphididae: Hemiptera)
Thrips Thrips tabaci (Thripidae: Thysanoptera)
Shoot weevil Alcidodes affaber (Curculionidae: Coleoptera)
Pod fly Melanagromyza obtusa (Agromyzidae: Diptera
Leaf roller Sylepta derogata (Pyraustidae: Lepidoptera
Semiloopers:Anomisflava, Tarachenitidula(Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)
Red cotton bug Dysdercus koenigii (Pyrrhocoridae: Hemiptera)
Mite Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Tetranychidae: Acarina)
Flower feeders Oxycetonia versicolor (Cetonidae: Coleoptera);
Mylabris pustulatus (Meloidae: Coleoptera):