Tomato fruit borer( Helicoverpa armigera, Noctuidae, Lepidioptera )

• Serious and imp pest of pulses and
• Polyphagus
• Also called maize cob worm and chick pea pod borer,cotton

Damaging stage : larva

Damaging symptoms: young instar feed leaves and advanced stage fruit bore.

Identification

• Egg : yellowish white, dome shaped, laying on palnts bud, flower, .
• Larva : 1^st instar larva are cream white darked head, larva are spotted appearance due to skeletonized setae, 2^nd instar larva aare yellowish green in color with black thoracic
• Pupa : soil, reddish
• Adult : forewings are black or dark kidney shaped marking near the center .hindwings are creamy white with a dark brown or dark gray band on margin.

Life cycle :

Egg–4-6 days–> Larva –2-4 weeks–> Pupa –1-4 weeks —> Adult

Management

• Pheromone trap: heli lure @15/ha
• Trap crop : tomato : marigold (5: 1 ratio).
• Chrysoperla carnea(predator), chelonis insularis (parasite )cotesia glomeratus (larval parasitoid), copidosoma koechleri ( egg/larval parasitoid ).
• Trichogramma chilonis for 6 times @50000-100000 parasitoized egg/ha.
• Bacillus thuringiensis (dipel or biolep) 5gm/l.
• Heliu NPV at 250CE/ha +1%jaggery along with sticker in
• Spray extract (oversoaked) of neem fruit,china berry fruit, malbur nut (justicia ) @200gm fruit or leaf per liter of waer .
• Cypermethrin ,Chloropriphos ,Dimethoate,