This document discusses several major insect pests of cotton including pink bollworm, American bollworm, army worm, lucern caterpillar, and spotted bollworm. For each pest, it provides the scientific name, family, order, distribution, host plants, description of life stages and cycle, damage caused, and control methods. Cultural, biological and chemical controls are outlined for managing the pests, with an emphasis on avoiding over-irrigation and fertilization, removing alternate hosts, and applying recommended insecticides.

2. Insect Pests of Cotton
Submitted by:
M.Shoaib
Semester:
7th (Entomology)
Course title:
Integrated Pest Management
College of Agriculture
BZU bahadur campus
Layyah
2

3. Insect Pests of Cotton
Chewing Pests
 Pink Bollworm
 American Bollworm
 Army Worm
 Lucern Caterpillar
 Spotted Bollworm

4. Pink Bollworm
Scientific name: Pectinophora gossypiella
Family: Gelechiidae
Order: Lepidoptera
Status: Most destructive pest of cotton.
Distribution: Distributed world wide and found in USA, Africa, Australia & Asia
including Pakistan and India.
Food Plants: Besides Cotton it also feeds on Bhindi, Gulkhera, kanghi Booti.
ETL: 5% damage of bolls.

5. Description of Stages
Adult: Moths are dark brown. Forewings have blackish spots while the margins of the
hind wings are deeply fringed. They measure about 8-9mm across the spread
wings.
Egg: Oval, white and turns brown later on.
Larva: White when newly emerged while turns pink later on. 8-10mm in length.
Pupa: Yellowish brown pupa equals the size of rice grain.

6. 8-16 Days
6-17 Days
Lay 100-250 Eggs
Hatching in 5-10 Days
2-29 Days
Egg Larva
Adult Pupa
Life Cycle

7. Mode of damage
 Double seed formation.
 Rosette Flower formation.
 Larva feeds internally.
 Damaged bolls fall off pre-maturely.
 Those bolls which do mature
 Produce lint of highly poorer quality.
 Oil comes out of the damaged seeds due to high temperature.
 Yellow spots in cotton.
 Lower oil Extraction.
 Lower Spinning quality.
 Lower ginning percentage.

9. Control
Cultural:
 Destruction of off-season cotton-sprouts and alternate host plants .
 After last picking grazing of sheep and goats on unwanted bolls.
 Deep ploughing to burry affected bolls after harvesting.
Biological:
Trichogramma chilonis destroys eggs.
Apanteles spp, Bracon spp, Chelonus spp parasitize larvae.
Anthocorid bug, Triphles spp feeds on eggs and first instar larvae.
Chemical: 1- Endosulfan 1000-1250 ml/acre 2- Lambda-cyhalothin 330 ml/acre
3- Bifenthrin 250 ml/acre 4- Spinosad 80 ml/acre
5- Indoxacarb 175ml/acre

10. American Bollworm
Scientific name: Helicoverpa armigera
Family: Noctuidae
Order: Lepidoptera
Status: Destructive pest of cotton.
Distribution: It is of cosmopolitan occurrence.
Food Plants: Polyphagous pest; although prefers to attack Cotton and Gram but
also feeds on Sorghum, Lucerne, Maize, Wheat, Tobacco, Berseem,
Sunflower, Tomato, Pea etc.
ETL: 6 eggs or larvae/25 plants or 10% damage.

11. Description of Stages
Adult: Yellowish brown .Forewings are brown with black spots and greyish wavy
lines on upper side. While the hind wings are whitish with broad blackish
band along the outer margin. 18-19 mm long.
Egg: Eggs are ribbed and dome shaped. In the beginning pale white after 1day
become pale brown and 1day before hatching become dark brown.
Larva: Up to 8 larval instars.
Pupa: Dark brown.14-18 mm in length.

12. 15-20 Days
8-15 Days
Lay 600-1500 Eggs
Hatching in 2-4 Days
7-25 Days
Egg Larva
Adult Pupa
Life Cycle

13. Mode of damage
 Attack starts with the onset of monsoon rains.
 It hollows out squares from inside. Squares cannot develop into flowers and
wither off. On Flowers larvae eat both male and female part.
 When bolls develop larvae migrates to bolls which they eat from inside.
 The attacked bolls show a prominent hole which is the indication of its attack.
 Holes made by this caterpillar are larger than holes made by other bollworms.
 A lot of dirty faeces accumulate on the boll surface.
 The 5th and 6th stage larvae bore & insert their heads into bolls and eat the inner
contents while rest of their bodies remain outside the bolls.

15. Control
Cultural:
 Pest can be suppressed by handpicking caterpillars in early stages of attack .
 Over irrigation and over fertilization should be avoided.
 Ploughing of field immediately after last picking of cotton.
 Alternate hosts should not be sown near cotton field such as Bhindi, Moong.
 Remove cotton sticks soon after harvest also remove affected bolls.
Biological:
Campoletis chloridae is effective larval parasitoid.
Chemical: 1- Endosulfan 1000-1250 ml/acre 2- Lambda-cyhalothin 330 ml/acre
3- Bifenthrin 250 ml/acre 4- Spinosad 80 ml/acre
5- Indoxacarb 175ml/acre

16. Army Worm
Scientific name: Spodoptera litura
Family: Noctuidae
Order: Lepidoptera
Status: Potential pest of cotton and tobacco.
Distribution: Pakistan, India and Australia.
Food Plants: Besides Cotton and tobacco it also feeds on Bhindi, Potato,
Sunflower, Cauliflower, Cabbage,, Groundnut, Berseem.
ETL: Visual.

17. Description of Stages
Adult: Pale brown in colour and 22 mm in length.
Egg: Yellowish green.
Larva: Up to 6 larval instars. Velvety black in colour and 35-40 mm in length.
Pupa: Brown

18. 15-30 Days
7-15 Days
In soil
Lay 300 Eggs
Hatching in 3-5 Days
3-15 Days
Egg Larva
Adult Pupa
Life Cycle

19. Mode of damage
 Caterpillar do the damage only.
 They feed on the leaves of plants more especially the green fleshy area of fresh
growth in b/w the veinlets leaving behind skeleton of leaves.
 The skeleton dries up and falls down.
 Yield potential highly affected.
 Mostly active at night.

21. Control
Cultural:
Pest can be suppressed by handpicking of egg masses & caterpillars.
Ploughing of field after harvesting.
Don't allow growing of Itsit and Jantar on borders or inside the cotton field.
Biological:
Natural enemies against larvae include Campoletis spp, Eriborus spp, Rogas spp.
Chemical: 1- Endosulfan 1000-1250 ml/acre 2- Lambda-cyhalothin 330 ml/acre
3- Bifenthrin 250 ml/acre 4- Spinosad 80 ml/acre
5- Indoxacarb 175ml/acre

22. Lucern Caterpillar
Scientific name: Spodoptera exigua
Family: Noctuidae
Order: Lepidoptera
Status: Minor pest of cotton.
Distribution: Pakistan, India, Europe, South Africa, USA, Canada.
Food Plants: Polyphagous insect; attacks on Cotton, Jute, Maize, Sorghum, Gram,
Linseed, Lentil, Cabbage, etc.
ETL: Visual.

23. Description of Stages
Adult: Pale brown in colour. Forewings are dark spotted and round while
hindwings are white.
Egg: Spherical and pearly white. They resemble poppy seeds.
Larva: Colour of larvae depends on the crop on which they feed.
Pupa: Brown.

24. 15-20 Days
5-7 Days
Lay 200 Eggs
Hatching in 1-3 Days
4-8 Days
Egg Larva
Adult Pupa
Life Cycle

25. Mode of damage
 Young caterpillars start feeding in groups.
 They feeds on leaves making webs.
 Then they spread and hide under various shrubs.
 They come out in the morning and evening to feed on leaves.
 Damaged crop show a webbed appearance.
 Older caterpillars by feeding leave behind quite large hollow patches on the foliage.
 Young plants and early sown plants suffer more damage.

26. Control
Cultural: Collection & destruction of egg masses & caterpillars.
Biological: Natural enemy is Euplectus spp.
Chemical: 1- Endosulfan 1000-1250 ml/acre 2- Lambda-cyhalothin 330 ml/acre
3- Bifenthrin 250 ml/acre 4- Spinosad 80 ml/acre
5- Indoxacarb 175ml/acre

27. Spotted Bollworm
Scientific name: Earias insulana & Earias vitella
Family: Noctuidae
Order: Lepidoptera
Status: Serious pest of cotton.
Distribution: Pakistan, India, North Africa and other countries.
Food Plants: Besides Cotton and it also feeds on Bhindi,
Muskmelon, Sonchal.
ETL: 3 larva/25 plants or 10 % loss.

28. Description of Stages
Adult: Earias insulana grass green in colour while Earias vitella straw yellow
coloured.
Egg: Greenish.
Larva: E. insulana larvae are dull greenish white while E. vitella larvae are
brownish. 20 mm in length.
Pupa: Light brown in colour.

29. Summer: 7-25 Days
Winter: 28-74 Days
Summer: 7-25 Days
Winter: 41-87 Days
Lay 200-400 Eggs
Summer: Hatching in
3-4 Days.
Winter: Hatching in 7
days
Summer: 18-34 Days
Winter: 26-136 Days
Egg Larva
Adult Pupa
Life Cycle

30. Mode of damage
 When cotton plant are young, the larvae bore into the terminal portion of the
shoots, which wither away and dry up.
 Later on larvae cause damage by boring the flower buds, flowers and fruits of
cotton.
 30-40% shedding of the fruiting-bodies.
 The attacked bolls open prematurely and larval feeding spoils lint.
 By boll formation, the crop damaged severely in August and thereafter till boll
removal.
 Poor lint quality produce.

32. Control
Cultural:
Clean Cultivation and Destruction of alternate host plants .
Early sowing of cotton crop.
Use of resistant varieties.
Biological:
 Trichogramma chilonis & Trichogramma brasiliensis parasitizes eggs.
Chemical: 1- Endosulfan 1000-1250 ml/acre 2- Lambda-cyhalothin 330 ml/acre
3- Bifenthrin 250 ml/acre 4- Spinosad 80 ml/acre
5- Indoxacarb 175ml/acre