Management of brinjal shoot borer
Brinjal fruit and shoot borer, is the major insect pest of eggplant. The female moth lays 60 to 200 eggs singly on tender shoots and developing fruits, depending upon environmental factors. Incubation period lasts for 3-5 days, larval and pupal period for 7-3, 7 to 13.
Exit hole
Larvae bore into shoots during the vegetative growth stage and later into flowers and fruits, rendering fruit unfit for consumption. Full grown larvae emerge from the fruit through exit holes and pupate in the soil.
In young plants caterpillars bore into petioles and midribs of large leaves and young tender shoots. Faecal pellets are seen at entrance holes. Infested shoots and leaves bend down and wither.
No visible symptoms
The larvae also attack the fruits when they are young in the bud stage, leaving no visible signs of infestation. They bore into flower buds and fruits, sometimes from under the calyx, with no visible symptoms.
Damaged flower buds are shed and fruits show circular holes. The large holes seen on fruits are usually the exit holes of the caterpillars. The content of vitamin C in the fruits of the brinjal is found to be reduced.
Control measures
— Collect and destroy the affected fruits and shoots.
— Avoid monocropping and crop rotation with potato.
— Brinjal with long, narrow fruits are less susceptible to attack and, therefore, this variety should be preferred overs.
— Use optimum dose of nitrogen fertilizers. Three soil applications of neem cake at 2.5 q ha at the time of transplanting, 1 and 2 months after transplanting.
— Application of neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) 5 per cent.— Mass trapping of adult moths with pheromone traps at 100 numbers per ha gave significant reduction in levels of infestation and damage in both shoots and fruits.
