Mulberry, the only food plant of silkworm, Bombyx mori, is also attacked by a large number of insect pests during cultivation. The important pests are Bihar hairy caterpillar, thrips, Mealy bugs, Scale insects, Leaf roller. The pests cause reduction in leaf yield about 10-20%. Several control measures (mechanical, physical, cultural, biological) are recommended to reduce the losses caused by pests.

1. WELCOME

2. KAKATIYA UNIVERSITY,
WARANGAL
Subject : Mulberry pests and diseases; Crop
Protection.
Seminar : Pest, concept, categories of pest
and major pests of mulberry.
DEPARTMENT OF SERICULTURE
Supervised by, Submitted by,
Dr. Kuntamalla Sujatha, Posham Raghuram,
Assistant Professor, M.Sc Sericulture,
Department of Sericulture, B.Sc Hons Horticulture
Kakatiya University, Warangal.

3. INDEX :
1.PEST AND ITS DEFINITION.
2.PEST CONCEPT.
3.CATEGORIES OF PEST.
4.MAJOR PESTS OF MULBERRY CROP.

4. PEST
* The word Pest is derived from the French word
peste and Latin term pestis meaning plague or
contagious disease.
* Pest is any animal which is noxious ,destructive or
troublesome to man or his interests.
*According to Woods,1976 a pest is a organism which
harms man or his property significantly or is likely to do
so.

5. *Pests are organisms causing injury to crops,forests
and ornamentals.
* Annoyance,injury and death to humans and
domesticated animals.
*Destruction or value depreciation of stored products.
*Pests include insects,nematodes,mites, snails,slugs
and vertebrates like rats ,birds etc...

6. CATEGORIES OF PEST
A. BASED ON OCCURENCE :
1.Regular pest : Frequently occurs on crop, close
association with the crop.
Ex: Brinjal fruit borer.
2.Occasional pest : Infrequently occurs on crop.
Ex :Mango stem borer.
3.Seasonal pest : Occurs during a particular season
every year.
Ex : Mango hoppers-February and March.

7. 4. Persistent pest : Occurs on a crop almost throughout
the year .
Ex : Guava mealy bug .
5. Sporadic pest : Occurs on a few isolated localities.
Ex : Coconut slug caterpillar.
B. BASED ON LEVEL OF INFESTATION
1.Epidemic pest : Occurs in a severe form in a region at
a particular time.
Ex : Brown plant hopper in Tanjore

8. 2.Endemic pest : Occurs in low level ,confined to a
particular area.
Ex : Mango hoppers in Periyakulam.
C. BASED ON ETL,EIL,GEP,AND DAMAGE BOUNDARY.
EIL : ECONOMIC INJURY LEVEL
ETL : ECONOMIC THRESHOLD LEVEL
GEP : GENERAL EQULIIBRIUM POSITION

9. 1.Key pest : These are persistent pests.
GEP lies above EIL always.
Ex : DBM in Cabbage.
2.Major pest : GEP lies very close to EIL
Economic damage can be prevented by timely and
repeated spraying.
Ex : Cotton jassids
3.Minor pest : GEP is below the EIL
Ex : Rice hispa

10. MAJOR PESTS OF MULBERRY
1. Bihar hairy caterpillar : Diacrasia obliqua
Order-Lepidoptera.
MOI : Adult : Light brown
in color and wings have
scattered black spots.
Larvae : Measures 5cm
long and covered with
black,white ,yellowish
brown hairs.

11. Symptoms : The caterpillars are
voracious leaf eaters and skeletonize
them.
* Defoliation occurs leaving only veins.
*Clear branches without leaf alone
can also be noticed after a severe
attack.
*This incidence is more in November -
January.
*Pupation takes place in soil for
12-14 days.

12. * Incidence is frequent from August to February.
* Life cycle : Caterpillars moult six times.Fully grown
caterpillar measures 4.5-5cm.
* Pupation takes place in loose soil or below the dried
leaves.
* Pupa is dark brown in color measures about 2 cm in
length .Pupal period lasts for 12-14 days.
* The life cycle is completed in about 48 days

13. Management : Deep ploughing and flood irrigation
should be done
* Collection and destruction of egg masses and
young instars.
* Spraying of 0.2%Dimethoate on mulberry plants.
* Biological control - Apanteles obliqua is found to
parasite the larvae .
* Installation of light traps to attract adults.

14. Thrips : Pseudodendrothrips mori
MOI : Nymph : Pale yellow colored
and moults four times in 18 days to
form adult
Adult : Males are brownish yellow
and females are dark brown .
Order : Thysanoptera
*Adults have fringed wings.

15. * 30-50 bean shaped yellow colored eggs are laid by
adult females on the ventral side of the leaf .
* Eggs hatch in 6-8 days.
* The nymphs are pale yellow colored. They moult four
times in 15-18 days. Adults are with fringed wings.
Period of Occurrence : Although the incidence is
recorded throughout the year, the damage is very high
during the summer months.

16. Symptoms ;
* Leaves show streaks in
the early stage of attack.
*Epidermal tissue is
damaged.
*Reduction in crude
protein,depletion of
moisture occurs.
*Leaves become yellowish
brown.

17. Management :
* Sprinkler irrigation in
field.
* Installation of blue
sticky traps in field.
* Spraying of 0.02
%DDVP@twicely at
weekly intervals.

18. 3.Scale insects : Saisettia nigra (black)
* Order : Hemiptera
MOI : Adult :Scales are round
reddish or oval shaped and
Covered with white flat
Scales.
* These are fast breeders thus
causing damage to the plant.
Aonidella aurantii ( red)

19. Nymph ; The female shields the eggs which hatch in
6 days.
* The hatched nymphs crawl and secretes
fibrous wax material which hardens to form the scale.
* Female moults thrice.
*Male moults twice.
* They reproduce
parthenogenetically.

20. Symptoms: Red scale attacks the twigs ,branches and
stems.Attacks during summer months.
*Leaves become yellow finally the whole plant dries up
and finally dies.
*Black scales causes yellowish or mottled appearance of
the plant.

21. Management :
* Cutting and burning of attacked branches.
* Swabbing diesel oil and soap emulsion @1:3 on the
stem to dislodge the scale insects.
* Spraying of 0.05 percent Malathion,safe period is 10
days
* Release of coccinellid predator Chilocorus kuwanae
as biological control.

22. 4. Mealy bug : Maconellicoccus hirsutus.
* These insects are the vectors of Tukra disease.
MOI : Nymph : Crawlers are
Pinkish ,covered with mealy
Substances.
Adult : Adults are 2.5 -4mm
Long ,soft bodied,off white
Colored and some are
pink colored covered
With white wax.
Order ; Hemiptera, Family : Pseudococcidae.

23. Life cycle : On an average about 250 eggs are laid by single
adult female.Eggs are elongated in shape and orange in
color.
* Hatching takes place in about 5-6 days.
* Adults reproduce parthenogenetically.They mate but
don't feed and die in 2-3 days after oviposition.
* Period of Occurence : Tukra disease is mostly recorded
during summer months.

24. Symptoms ;
* Curling of leaves at the growing point.
* Thickening and shortening of internodal region.
* Rosetting of leaves at the apical end

25. Management : Affected shoots are removed and
burnt.
* Spraying of 0.01 % parathion safe period is 13 days.
* Soil application of phorate granules @4 kg /ha
after pruning .
* Biological control by introducing lady Bird beetles
Cryptolaemus montrouzeiri.

26. Lady bird beetle predator of mealy bug

27. E. Leaf roller : Diaphania pulveruntalis
MOI : Larvae : Black headed larvae are greenish brown
with black markings
* Adult : Greyish white with brown stripes on the front
wings.
Order : Lepidoptera

28. Symptoms : Larvae defoliate the apical shoot after
binding the tender leaves together and inhibits the
growth.
Management : Pruning of the infested branches.
* Spray of 0.76%DDVP safe period is 17 days .
* Release of Trichocards @1/acre for 4 weeks.

29. Trichocards in the field