Green caterpillars boring into chana pods at flowering and pod stage.
How to control pod borer (Helicoverpa) in chana (gram)?
GGanesh More8mo ago · 280 views
3 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓8mo ago
Gram pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera) is the main pest of chana and is best managed with an integrated approach. Install pheromone traps at 5 per hectare to monitor, and put up bird perches at 20 to 30 per hectare since birds eat the larvae. Spray HaNPV (nuclear polyhedrosis virus) or neem based products in the early larval stage. If the economic threshold is crossed, around one to two larvae per metre row at flowering, use a recommended insecticide such as emamectin benzoate, chlorantraniliprole or spinosad, and rotate chemicals to avoid resistance. Spray in the evening for better contact. Always read the label and follow waiting periods, and confirm doses with your local agriculture officer.
SSunita Patil8mo ago
Bird perches really work for us in Latur. We put dried branches across the field and the drongo and myna birds clean up a lot of larvae, so we spray much less than before.
KKailash Shinde8mo ago
Do not wait until you see bored pods to act. By then the damage is done because the grown larva is inside the pod where spray cannot reach. I scout at early flowering and spray HaNPV in the evening when the larvae are tiny, and that early timing matters more than the product choice.