This document discusses several minor pests that affect pulses:
- Green leafhoppers, papaya mealybug, thrips, pod bugs, leaf folders, and stem flies damage leaves, pods, and stems and can reduce crop yields. Management includes insecticide sprays and seed treatments.
- Termites, scales, blister beetles, and flower webbers feed on plant tissues and reduce crop quality. Control involves locating and destroying colonies, or applying insecticides.
- Other pests mentioned are leaf miners, leaf cutter bees, redgram bud weevil, and caterpillars that feed on leaves, buds, and flowers, potentially stunting plant growth. Management
2. MINOR PESTS OF PULSESMINOR PESTS OF PULSES
PRESENTED BY
S.NAGESH
TAM/16-17.
3. Green leafhoppers, Empoasca kerri , E. binotata
Cicadellidae; Hemiptera
Symptoms:
Affected leaves turn pale and then rust-
red.
Leaves curl downwards- in severe
cases, show 'hopper burn' symptom,
dry and fall to the ground
Nymph:
Wedge-shaped, very active, suck cell
sap from underside of the leaves.
Adult:
3 mm long, greenish yellow during the
summer acquiring a reddish tinge in the
winter.
4. Papaya mealy bug, Paracoccus marginatus
Pseudococcidae; Hemiptera
• Occasional pest.
• Congregation of nymphs and adults on leaves, twigs and
pods.
• Ants movement-sooty mould development.
5. Management
• Spraying of infested crop with 500 ml methyl demeton
25 EC or 100 ml imidacloprid per ha .
•Spraying of monocrotophos @ 3ml/liter water in
combination with diclorvos 1ml/liter water.
7. Pod bugs, Riptortus pedestris, Clavigrella gibbosa
C. horrens , Anoplecnemis phasiana
(Coreidae, Hemiptera)
Nymphs and adults cause
substantial damage to pods and
also to stem, leaves and flower
buds.
Attacked pods show pale-yellow or
brown patches-When attack is
heavy, pods shrivel up.
Grains in attacked pods remain
shriveled and extremely small.
Damage- serious towards crop
maturity stage.
9. C. horrens
Greenish-brown in colour, 2 cm in length, with spines
on either side of middle of prothorax.
Female bug -bigger and has a round and swollen
abdomen.
Male insect with a narrow and pointed abdomen.
11. Pod bug, Coptosoma cribraria
Plataspidae; Hemiptera
This bugs present in clusters on plant parts and suck
the sap from plant parts.
Adult:
Small, sub-globular, greenish brown bug with
characteristic buggy odour.
12. Cow bugs
Brownish bugs with horn like projection
on head region and they consist brown
median line at the back of their body and
at the end it will curve upwards.
Both nymphs and adults suck the sap
from the twigs as a result the infested
area becomes corky .
They excretes honey dew which attracts
black ants.
13. Green bug
Adult will be in green colour with
shield like body.
Both nymphs and adults suck the
sap from developing pods.
14. Management
Pod bugs
• Dimethoate 30 EC @ 500 ml/ha or methyl demeton
25 EC 500 ml/ha.
• Imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 100 ml/ha or
thiamethoxam @ 25 WG 100 g/ha.
15. Leaf folder, Anticarsia irrorata
Noctuidae; Lepidoptera
Symptom:
larva olds leaves together and feeds by being in that
folded leaf.
Larva:
Green coloured.
Adult:
Yellowish brown moth with an oblique black line on
the wings.
16. Lab-lab leaf miner, Cyphosticha coerula
Gracillariidae; Lepidoptera
Symptom:
Leaves with large irregular papery mines on dorsal
surface.
Mangement:
Foliar spray of methyl demeton @ 2ml/liter water or
dimethoate @ 2mlliter water was effective.
17. Tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura
Noctuidae; Lepidoptera
Identification marks
Larva-larva velvety black color with smooth body and
consists of yellow green dorsal stripe.
Adult-fore wings with pale gray to dark brown with white
waxy margin.
Hind wings-white with dark outer margin.
19. Management
• Set up pheromone trap at 12/ha for S.litura.
• Growing castor along the border as trap crop.
• Removal and destruction of egg mass.
• Poison bait – rice bran 12.5 kg + jaggery 1.25 kg +
carbaryl 50 WP 1.25 kg in 7.5 litres of water .
• baits can be spread in the field in the evening hours.
• Applying NPV 1.5 x 1012 POB with teepol (1 ml/lit).
• Spraying any on the chemicals.
Dichlorvos 76 WSC 1 lit/ha.
Fenitrothion 50 EC 625 ml/ha .
20. Leaf webber, Eucosma critica
Tortricidae; Lepidoptera
The bores into tender shoots of folded leaves and feed
from within.
Symptoms:
Growing tip-damaged, growth of plants- stunted.
Webbing of terminal leaf lets.
Boring buds.
22. Bean stem fly, Ophiomyia phaseoli
Agromyzidae; Diptera
Maggot:
Light yellow maggot.
Adult:
Light brown when Freshly emerged, but fully
developed adult is metallic-bluish or greenish-
black in colour with light brown eyes.
Wings are transparent. Female is slightly bigger than
the male.
23. Nature of damage:
maggots moves in leaf and then bores
deeper into stem-travels downwards in
young plants .
In older plants, maggots do not move much
- cuts an exit hole in stem for adult before
pupation.
24. Symptoms:
Drooping of tender leaves, wilting and drying
of young plants.
Tender stem pith -tunneled by yellowish
maggot.
Maggot pupates at collar region, become
swollen and start rotting.
Exit hole plugged with frass and sand at collar
region.
Older plants show stunting of branches but not
killed.
Management:
• For stem fly - seed treatment with
dimethote 30 EC 5ml/kg seed .
• Foliar spray of acephate @ 1.5 g/lit water.
25. Flower webbers
Eublemma hemirrhoda, E. silicula
Noctuidae; Lepidoptera
Larva:
Green with a black head and long white hairs on the body.
Adult:
Moth has forewings with yellow and purple patches and
white hind wings.
The larva webs the flowers and feeds with in the webbing.
26. Termites/ White ants, Odontotermes sp.
Termitidae; Isoptera
Symptoms:
Live underground, but make small earthen mounds or
earthen passages that are visible above the ground.
27. Nature of damage:
Feeds roots and stems .
causes wilting and drying of plants at all stages of
crop.
Management:
Locate and destroy the termite colony.
Destroy the affected plants in the field.
Spray chlorantraniprole 18.5 SC 500-625 ml or
imidacloprid 17.8 SL 350 ml with 500 L water/ha.
29. Blister beetle, Mylabris pustulata
Meloidae: Coleoptera
Symptoms:
• Beetles feed on flowers, leaves and tender
panicles, preventing grain formation.
• On ground pieces of flowers - littered
beneath crop canopy.
• Beetles - very active in morning hours,
damage flowers either solitarily or
gregariously.
30.
31. Larva:
• First stage larva-'triungulin' (long-legged
with three claws), carnivorous and actively
searches for host.
• Moult to become eruciform.
Adult:
• Medium sized, 12.5-25.0 mm long.
Conspicuous in appearance and are
moderately robustly built.
• Beetles - bright metallic blue, green, black
and yellow or brown .
32. Redgram bud weevil
Indozocladius asperulus
Curculionidae, Coleoptera
Apion graveolens
Apionidae, Coleoptera
Bore holes on bud
Bud drop
34. Leaf miner, Aproraema modicella
Gelechiidae, Lepidoptera
Webbing scrapping and
distortion of leaves.
White blistery appearance
will be seen on infested
leaves.
35. Leaf cutter bee, Megachile anthracina
Megachilidae, Hymenoptera
Medium sized brown coloured bees.
Red gram leaves showing semi circular or circular cut
out.
Adults cut small bits of leaves for making larval
chambers.
36. Red gram sterility mite, Aceria cajani
Eriophyidae: Acari
vector of the pigeon pea sterility mosaic disease
light green or chlorotic leaves which have mosaic
patterns . Most infected plants do not bear flowers
37. 0.2 mm long, light pink, spindle shaped, and are
normally found feeding on the underside of leaf lets.
Milky white eggs are found on vegetative terminals.
Many nymphs are found on young folded leaflet.
Plant - to-plant infestation occurs by the wind
dispersal of infective mites.
38. Spray dicofol 18.5 EC 1.0 L or wettable sulphur 40
WP 3.0 kg or dimethoate 30 EC 1.0 L or phosalone 35
EC 1.0 L in 625 L water per ha.
Avoid synthetic pyrethroids as they cause
resurgence after repeated spray.
Management
39. Leaf eating caterpillar: Azazia
rubricans (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)
Larva is slender green with ashy white band between
each segment.
bright yellowish brown stripes along the sides will be
present.
Adult moth resembles a dry leaf.
Larva feeds on leaves
40. Sphingid caterpillar: Acherontiastyx (Sphingidae:
Lepidoptera)
Larva is a stout green caterpillar with yellowish
oblique stripes with curved anal horn.
Adult is large, wings grey with waxy markings.
Abdomen crimson coloured with black stripes.
The larva feeds on leaves and cause severe
defoliation.