Spotted Pod Borer Control

Symptoms

The larva webs together flowers, buds and pods with silken threads and feeds hidden inside the webbed mass. You see webbed flower clusters with excreta, dried and dropped flowers, and pods stuck together with frass. On opening a webbed pod a greenish caterpillar with rows of dark spots along the back is found feeding on grains.

Damage

Spotted pod borer is a serious pest of pigeonpea, mungbean, uradbean and cowpea and can cause 20 to 60 percent grain loss, reaching up to 68 percent in early maturing pigeonpea. Because the larva hides inside webbed flowers and pods, it is protected from natural enemies and contact insecticides, making timely action important.

Organic & cultural control

Remove and destroy webbed flowers and pods by hand during scouting to kill hidden larvae. Spray Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki at 1 gram per litre on young larvae before they web heavily, repeating as needed. Spray neem seed kernel extract 5 percent at flowering. Install pheromone traps and grow flowering trap or border crops to attract natural enemies. Avoid early broad-spectrum sprays that kill parasitoids.

Chemical control

Spray at the bud to early flowering stage before larvae web the flowers, since once webbed they are hard to reach. Recommended actives include chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC, flubendiamide 39.35 SC, indoxacarb 14.5 SC or spinosad. Lambda cyhalothrin has also been found effective. Direct the spray well into the flowering canopy. Always follow the product label for dose and pre-harvest interval and consult your KVK or an agronomist before use.

Always follow the product label, the recommended pre-harvest interval, and your local KVK or agronomist. Pesticide approvals change, so verify before use.

Prevention

Sow on time and choose varieties that escape peak pest periods. Avoid staggered sowing that gives the pest continuous flowering hosts. Scout flowers twice a week from bud stage and start control at first webbing. Keep field bunds clean of alternate hosts like wild legumes. Conserve natural enemies by using selective insecticides only.