My cabbage leaves have many tiny holes that look like the leaf was shot with pellets, and I find small thin green caterpillars that wriggle and drop on a thread when I touch them. The damage is getting worse before head formation. What pest is this?
The small green caterpillars that drop on a silk thread when disturbed, leaving tiny shot hole windows in the leaf, are diamondback moth larvae, the main pest of cole crops. They build resistance to chemicals very fast, so the IPM approach is essential. Start with pheromone traps to monitor, install at the recommended rate, and spray biopesticides first, Bt or spinosad based products work well and are kinder to natural enemies. Only if pressure stays high use a chemical, and strictly rotate modes of action between sprays because repeating one will cause resistance and failure. Avoid synthetic pyrethroids alone since DBM is often already resistant to them. Growing mustard as a trap crop on the borders pulls the moths away, and keeping fields free of cole crop residue between seasons breaks the cycle. Because cabbage is eaten fresh, follow the label and pre-harvest interval, and check with your KVK for the current local rotation.
The mustard trap crop trick works here in Solan. The moths go to the mustard border first and I treat that strip, keeps the main cabbage cleaner.
I made the mistake of spraying the same pyrethroid again and again. It just stopped working. Switched to Bt and spinosad on rotation and got control back.
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