1. The document discusses various pests that affect cucurbit crops such as snake gourd, pumpkin, bitter gourd and bottle gourd including fruit borers, shoot and fruit borers, leaf feeders, beetles, and other pests like stem borers, gall flies, and sucking pests. 2. It provides information on the distribution, host range, life cycle, damage symptoms and management strategies for each major pest, which involves cultural, biological and chemical control methods. 3. The identification features of pests at different growth stages are also highlighted to help recognize the pests.

1. R.K. Panse
Asstt. Prof. (Entomology)
Lecture no. 10

2. Distribution
South Europe, India, China, North Australia, South East Asia and
Africa
Host range
Cotton, Bhendi, Holly hock, Hibiscus cannabinus , Abutilon
indicum and other malvaceous plants

3. Biology of E. vitella
Egg period: 2 – 4 days
Eggs: Singly – plant parts
Crown shaped, sculptured
Larval: 10 – 12 days
Brownish without finger
shaped processes
Longitudinal white stripes –
dorsal side
Pupal:7-10 days
Pupation: outside the bolls
Adult:
Forewing with a
green wedge

4. Mark of identification
•Egg: Sculptured egg and sky blue in colour
Larva –brownish with white streaks dorsally and
pale yellow ventrally.
Adult–Forewing – pale with a wedge shaped green
band in the middle.

5. Pupa – Brown and boat shaped.
Adult– Forewing – uniformly silvery green

6. 1. The damage caused by the larvae.
2. Which bore into the growing shoot buds, flowers, and fruits and feed on the
internal contents.
3. The infested shoots wither, droop and die.
4. The infested fruits appear deformed and show
holes on them plugged with excreta
5. Due to larval feeding and presence of excreta inside, the fruit become unfit for
human consumption.
Larvae of Okra shoot and fruit
borer
Damage symptom fruit of
Okra

7. Management
Collect and destroy the infested shoots, buds, flowers and fruits
Avoid cultivation of alternate weed hosts: Hibiscus cannabinus, H.
abelmoschus and Abutilon indicum
Light trap @ 1/ ha
Pheromone traps @ 12/ ha
Egg parasitoid: Trichogramma chilonis @ 1,00,000/ha
Egg larval parasitoid: Chelonus blackburni @ 10,000/ha
Insecticides: Monocrotophos 36 WSC @ 650 ml/ha

8. Green leafhopper: Amrasca devastans,
Cicadellidae: Hemiptera
Distribution
All over inidia
Host range:
Cotton, Potato, Bhendi, Brinjal,
Castor, Tomato and Sunflower
Biology
Nymphal period: 7 days
Egg period: 4 – 11 days
Eggs - singly within leaf vein
Adult:
Greenish yellow in colour
TLC: 15 – 46 days

9. Marks of identification:-
The nymphs are pale green in colour . The adults
measuring 3.5mm length are wedge shaped, pale
green colour with a black spot on each forewing and
two spots on vertex of the head.
Nature of damage:-
The damage is caused by both nymphs and adult which
suck the sap from the under surface of leaves, the infected
leaves turn yellow, dry up along the margins and become
brownish in colour.

10. 4-11
days
Life cycle
1. The female hopper insects about 15 eggs inside leaf veins and the incubation
period range from 4 to 11 days.
climatic
2. The nymph become full grown in 7 to 25 days depending upon
conditions.
3. The life cycle is completed in 15 to 16 days.
4. The completes 7 to 11 generation in a year.

11. Management
Seed treatment :
Imidacloprid 70 WS 7 g / kg of seeds or
Thiamethaxam 70 WS 4 g/ kg of seeds
Light trap to attract the broods of leafhopper
Predators: Chrysoperla spp.
ETL: 50 nymphs / 50 leaves
Botanical insecticides: Margocide 0.5 % or neem oil 3% thrice at 15
days interval
Chemical insecticides: Acephate 75 SP 650 /ha or imidacloprid 200
SL 100 ml / ha

12. Marks of identification:-
Adult are small, yellow with hyaline wings dusted with waxy
powder, nymphs are tiny, crawl on leaf surface and secrets honey dew.
Nature of damage:-
Both nymph and adults this pest causes damage in two
ways;
(a) vitality of the plant is lowered through the loss of
cell sap (b) normal photosynthesis is interfered due to growth of a sooty mould on the
honey dew extruded by the insect.
Adult of Okra white
fly
Scientific name - Bemisia tabaci Gennadius
Order – Hemiptera
Family - Aleyrodidae
www.whitefly.in

13. 1 Female lays about 125 eggs during her life.
2.Which hatch in 3 to 5 days in summer and 5 to 33 days in winter.
3. The nymphs on emergence suck the cell sap from the under surface of
leaves and grow into three stages to form the pupae with 9 to 14 days in
summer and 17 to 33 days in winter.
4.The pupal period lasts for 2 to 8 days.
5. Total life cycle completes with in 14 to 107 days depending on weather
condition.
6.There are 10 to 12 overlapping generations per year.

14. www.whitefly.life

15. Red spider mite: Tetranychus telarius
Tetranychidae:Acarina
Distribution
Africa, Pakistan, India, Srilanka, South East Asia and Japan
Host range:
Tomato, Brinjal, Bhendi,Castor, Gourds, Jute, Tea, Citrus, Grapes, Rose,
Jasmine and Marigold
Biology
Egg period: 3-5 days
Nymphal:6-10 days
Adult:
Ovate, reddish brown

16. Management
Wettable sulhpur 50 WP @ 1500 g/ ha or dicofol 18 EC 1500 ml/ha

18. BORERS

19. Distribution
East Africa, Northan Australia, Taiwan,
Japan, South China, South East Asia and India
Host range
Musk Melon, Melon, Bitter Gourd, and
Snake Gourd
Biology Egg period: 1 day
1-26 eggs/ days/ female
Maggot: 3-21 days
Dirty white apodous maggot
Pupal: 3-9days
Pupation: soil
Adult:
Reddish brown fly
with lemon yellow
curved vertical
markings - thorax

20. Management
Grow resistant varieties: Arka – tinda ( round gourd);
Arka-saryamakhia (pumpkin)
Change the sowing dates as the fly population is low in hot
dry conditions and its peak during rainy season
Ribbed gourd as trap crop – malathion 50 EC 2 ml/ lit of
water on congregating adult flies- undersurface of leaves
Use attractants – citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, vinegar oil
(acetic acid), destrose and lactic acid
Collect and destroy all fallen and damaged fruits
Rake up soil under vines or plough infested field to
destroy puparia and endosulfan 4% @ 25 kg/ha on soil
Polythene sachet methyl eugenol lure trap @ 25/ ha or

21. Prepare methyl eugenol and malathion 50 EC mixture @
1:1 and take 10 ml/ polythene bag with six holes and place
12 traps/ ha or
Keep 5 g wet fish meal in a polythene bag with six holes
and add 0.1 of dichlorvos – 12 traps/ha
Use bait spray: molasses or jaggery 10 g/lit + fenthion
100 EC 1ml/ lit or malathion 50 EC 2ml/lit or dimethoate
30 EC 1ml/lit, tow rounds at fortnight interval before
ripening of the fruits
Spray neem oil 2% to prevent the oviposition by adult
flies
Neem seed kernel extract 5% to deter the flies against egg
laying
Do not use DDT, Lindane, 1.3% dust, copper fungicides
and sulphur dusts - phytotoxic

22. Stem borer or clear winged moth: Melittia eurytion
Aegeriidae: Lepidoptera
Distribution
All over India
Host range
Snake gourd
Biology
Egg period:
Eggs laid – lower surface of leaves
Larval:
White in colour
Adult:
Clear winged with fan
– like tufts of hairs on
legs Pupal: 20-24 days
Pupation: earthen cocoon in the soil

23. Management
Collect and destroy the damaged plant parts with
larvae
Encourage activity of parasitoid: Apanteles spp.
Insecticides: Malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml or dimethoate 30 EC
500 ml and methyl demeton 25 EC@ 500 ml/ ha

24. LEAF FEEDERS

25. Pumpkin semilooper: Plusia signata, P. peponis
Noctuidae: Lepidoptera
Distribution
All over India
Host range
Snake gourd
Biology
Egg period: 4 -5 days
White spherical eggs laid singly –
tender leaves
Larva: 28 days
Green in colour with
longitudinal white stripe,
humped last abdominal
segments
Pupal: 5-7 days
Pupation: inside leaf fold
Adult:
Brown moth with
shiny brown
forewings

26. Management
Collect and destroy the caterpillars
Encourage activity of Apanteles taragamae
A. plusiae
Insecticides: Malathion 50EC @ 500 ml/ ha or
dimethoate 30 EC @ 500ml/ha or methyl demeton 25
EC @ 500ml/ha

27. Pumpking beetle: Aulacophora foveicollis
A.cincta, A. intermedia
Galerucidae: Coleoptera
Distribution
India, Asia, Australia, Africa and Southern Europe
Host range
Pumpkin, Ash gourd, Melon and Cucumber
Biology Egg period:6-15 days
300 eggs/female
Eggs laid singly or groups in soil
Grub: 13-25 days
Pupal: 7-17 days
Pupation: soil
Adult:
A.foveicollis – red
coloured beetle
A.cincta- grey
coloured beetle
A. Intermedia – blue
coloured beetle
*Adult hibernation

28. Management
Deep plough the cucurbits fields just after harvesting to minimize the beetles
Collect and destroy adult beetles
Sow cucumber in April – May to escape from the pest attack
Carbofuran 3 G @ 50 kg /ha at sowing, vining and flowering stages
Dust: Endosulfan 4% D @ 25kg/ha
Malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml or dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml and methyl
demeton 25 EC@ 500 ml/ ha

29. Distribution
All over India
Host range
Cucurbitaceous plants
Biology
Egg period: 3-6 days
Eggs laid singly or in groups –lower surface of leaves
Larval: 9-14 days
Bright green with a pair of white
mid dorsal lines
Pupal: 5-13 days
Pupation: inside a cocoon among the leaves
Adult:
Whitish wings with
broad and dark
marginal patches
Pumpkin caterpillar: Diaphania indica
Pyraustidae: Lepidoptera

30. Management
Collect and destroy early stage caterpillars
Encourage activity of parasioid: Apanteles spp.
Insecticides: Malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml or dimethoate 30 EC
500 ml and methyl demeton 25 EC@ 500 ml/ ha

31. Distribution
India, South and East Africa, Japan, Indonesia and Philippines
Host range
Bottle gourd
Bottle gourd plume moth: Sphenarches caffer
Pterophoridae:Lepidoptera
Biology
Egg period:
Eggs laid singly – buds and leaves
Larval:
Yellowish green with
spines all over body
Pupal:
Greenish – brown pupa
Adult:
Tiny plume moth

32. Management
Collect and destroy larvae and pupae
Insecticides: Malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml or dimethoate 30 EC
500 ml and methyl demeton 25 EC@ 500 ml/ ha

33. Other pests
Snake gourd stem weevil: Baris trichosanthis, Curculionidae: Coleoptera
Bitter gourd stem gall fly: Neolasioptera falcata, Cecidomyiidae: Diptera
Leaf miner: Liriomyza trifolii, Agromyzidae: Diptera
Spotted leaf beetles: Epilachna dodecastimga, Coccinellidae, Coleoptera
E. vigintioctopunctata,
Snake gourd stem boring beetle: Apomecyna saltator, Cerambycidae:
Coleoptera
Blister beetle: Mylabris pustulata, Meloidae: Coleoptera
Aphid: Aphis gossypii, Aphididae: Hemiptera
Stink bug: Cordius janus, Pentatomidae: Hemiptera
Leaf footed bug: Fabrictilis australis, Coreidae: Hemiptera
Mealy bug: Ferrisia virgata, Pseudococcidae: Hemiptera