The growing tips of my okra are bending and drying, and the young pods have holes with a caterpillar boring inside, making them unfit to sell. New pods keep getting attacked. Which pest is this and how do I protect the pods?
Drying twisted shoot tips and bored young pods with a caterpillar inside are okra fruit and shoot borer, the main pod pest of okra. As with brinjal, the most effective step is to clip and destroy all wilted shoot tips and bored pods twice a week and carry them out of the field, which removes the larvae before they spread. Pick pods frequently and remove any infested ones. Set pheromone traps to monitor the moths. Use biopesticides like Bt or neem first, and if pressure is high use a recommended insecticide such as emamectin benzoate or chlorantraniliprole, rotating modes of action and never repeating one product. Because okra pods are harvested every two to three days and eaten fresh, the pre-harvest interval is critical, so choose products with a short waiting period and follow the label exactly. Confirm the pest with your KVK and ask for the safest option given your frequent picking.
Frequent picking plus clipping the drooping tips kept my pods cleaner than spraying alone ever did.
With okra picked so often, the waiting period really matters. I stick to short PHI products as the KVK advised.
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