Management of pink bollworm in cotton
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The lint quality is highly reduced
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PINK BOLLWORM is a serious pest of cotton, distributed all over the world.
The adult is a dark brown moth, which lays its eggs on the flower, buds and developing bolls or in between bracts.
Eggs, larva and adult periods are 4-20, 25-30 and 7-15 days respectively. The larva is pinkish with dark brown head.
Rosette appearance
The affected squares will drop down and the flowers exhibit a rosette appearance.
The larva enters the tip of the developing boll and after successful entry it feeds on the immature seeds and moves to the adjacent locules by damaging the septum.
Even in one boll 3-5 grown up larvae can be seen. Affected bolls open prematurely and the damage predisposes the boll to saprophytic fungal infection.
The quantity and the quality of the lint are highly reduced and the germination of the seeds from affected bolls is very low.
— The infected squares, flowers and the bolls should be collected and destroyed.
— Light traps should be installed at one per 4 acres to monitor and capture the adult moths.
— Pheromone traps must be erected at 12 traps per hectare to lure and kill the adult male moths.
— The seeds may be fumigated with methyl bromide at 1.5kg per 100m{+3} for 24 hours or with aluminium phosphide at 18 tablets per cubic metre.
— The seeds may be subjected to heat treatment for few minutes.
T. ABDUL RAZAK & G. SRINIVASAN
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coastal Saline Research Centre,
Ramanathapuram
Tamil Nadu
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