WELCOME

Dept. of (Ag). Entomology

Presented byRAKESH KR. MEENA

15MSENT014M.Sc. (Ag). Entomology

CREDIT SEMINARON

PESTS OF COTTON AND THEIR MANAGEMENT

COTTON (Gossipium hirsutum)

IntroductionIt is white gold.It is also backbone of textile industry.

It’s contributes 7% of GDP our country.

It is providing employment to 60 million people in India.45% world’s fiber need is met from cotton.

10% of world’s edible oil is met from cotton.

IMPORTANCE OF COTTON

It is cultivated primarily for lint.

Raw cotton is also used for medical and surgical purpose.

Linters are used cushions, pillows etc.

Linters Also used for high grade paper, rayon, films, explosives.

Seed crushed for edible oil.

Cakes and meals are excellent cattle feed.

MAJOR PESTS OF COTTON

1. Leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula biguttula )

2. Cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii)

3. Thrips (Thrips tabaci)

4. Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci)

5. Mealy bug (Phenacoccus solani)

1

2

3

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Order: Hemiptera

Family: Cicadellidaes

Distribution and status: 

Major pest in all cotton-growing region of India

Host range: 

Cotton, potato, brinjal, castor, bhendi, tomato and sunflower.

  

Leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula biguttula )

Damage symptoms: 

Both the nymphs and adults suck sap from the under surface of leaves.

Tender leaves turn yellow, leaf margins curl downwards .

In the case of severe infestation leaves get a bronze or brick red colour which is typical “hopper burn”. Crop growth retarded.

SS

Adult Nymph

Damaged leaf

The adult is wedge-shaped about 2 mm. long and pale green in colour.

The front wings have a black spot on their posterior parts.

The nymphs are wingless and are found in large number on the lower surfaces of leaves. They walk in diagonal directions of their body

Life cycleAdult green and wedge shaped, lay eggs singly within leaf veins.

Incubation period 4-11 days.

Nymph light green and translucent found between the veins of

leaves on the under surface.

Nymphal period 7-21 days. Nymphs moult five times.

Life cycle is completed in 15-46 days.

Eleven generations are known to occur in a year.

Management Early sowing and close spacing of cotton reduces pest infestation

particularly if the rainfall is heavy.

Setup light trap to monitor the broods of leaf hopper and to attract

and kill. 

Release predators viz., Chrysopa carnea.

Spray monocrotophos 36 SL @ 1000 ml/ha and NSKE 5% @ 25

kg/ha or 750 ml endosulfan 35 EC in 1000 L of water per hectare.

Order: Hemiptera

Family: Aphididae

Distribution and status: 

India, occasionally serious.

Host range: 

Cotton, bhendi, brinjal, chillies, guava  

  

Cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii )

Damage symptoms: 

They suck the sap and cause stunted growth, gradual drying resulting in death of the plants. 

In case of severe infestation black sooty mold develops on honeydew secreted by aphids.

Due to honeydew Photosynthesis is reduced.

Leaf turns down ward curl.

In cloudy weather the infestation is higher

Damage symptoms: 

Development of black sooty mould due to the excretion of honey dew gives the plant, a dark appearance.

The aphids are greenish brown, soft bodied and small insects.

Apterous females multiply parthenogenitically and viviparously.

A single female may produce 8-22 nymphs in a day which become

adults in about 7-9 days.

Population increase in cloudy weather and in more than 80 % RH

Life cycleApterous females multiply parthenogenitically and viviparously.

A single female may produce 8-22 nymphs in a day which become

adults in about 7-9 days.

Management Monitor the nymphs and adults of early season sucking pests from

the 14th day after sowing.

Spray any of the following insecticides with 500 L

water/ha.

NSKE 5% kg/ha or Azadirachtin 0.03%.500ml

Methyl demeton 500 ml.

Imidacloprid 17.8 SL  100 -125 ml.

Thiacloprid 21.7 SC 100-125 ml

Thrips (Thrips tabaci) SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Thysanoptera

Family:Thripidae

Genus : Thrips

Species : tabaci

Thrips are small hemimetabolic insects with a distinctive cigar-shaped.

They are elongated with transversely constricted bodies .

They range in size from 0.5 to 14 millimetres. but most thrips are about 1 mm in length.

Thrips have asymmetrical mouthparts that are also unique to the group.

Unlike the Hemiptera the right mandible of thrips is reduced and vestigial.

The maxillary stylets and hypopharynx are inserted into the opening to drain cellular fluid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thysanoptera.jpg

DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS: Found world-wide and is found throughout India as a major pest of cotton.

HOST RANGE: Cotton, cabbage, cauliflower, potato, tobacco, tomato, cucumber, brinjal, tea, pine apple, chillies, tomato, radish, grapes, garlic, onion, etc.

DAMAGE SYMPTOMS:

Both nymph and adult lacerate the tissue and suck the sap from

the upper and lower surface of leaves.

in cases of severe infestation they curl upward and become

crumbled.

Heavy feeding on seedlings gives the plants a silvery

appearance.

In severe infestations, the terminal buds may be killed.

Silvery appearance

LIFE CYCLEThe adults are slender, yellowish brown and measure about 1 mm

in length.

Males wingless, females have long, narrow strap-like wings.

Nymphs resemble the adults in shape and colour but are wingless

and slightly smaller.

This pest is active throughout the year, on breeds of garlic and

onion from November to May.

Migrates to cotton and other summer host plants and breeds till

September.

In October it is found on cabbage and cauliflower.

The adult female lives for 2-4 weeks.

Adult female lays 50-60 kidney shaped eggs singly in slits made

in leaf tissue with its sharp ovipositors.

Egg period 4-9 days.

Nymphs pass through two stages and are full fed in 4-6 days.

After which they descend to the ground and pupate at a depth of

about 25 mm.

The pre-pupal and pupal stages last 1-2 and 2-4 days, respectively.

Several generations are completed in a year.

4-9 days

4-6days

Pre pupa

1-2 days

2-4 days

2-4 weeks

MANAGEMENT

Monitor the nymphs and adults from the 14th day after sowing.

Use neem coated urea to reduce the infestation of the pest.

Install sky blue colour sticky traps@ 25/ha.

Spray 625 ml of malathion 50 EC or methyl demeton 25 EC.

Spray dimethoate 30 EC or moncrotphos 36 SL 500 ml to750 ml in 500 to 750 L of water per ha as soon as the pest appears. A waiting period of 7 days should be observed, before harvest.

Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci)SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order:Hemiptera

Family:Aleyrodidae

Genus : Bemisia

Species : tabaci

DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS: India, Sri Lanka,West Africa, Japan and Europe 

HOST RANGE: Cotton, tomato, tobacco, sweet potato, cassava, cabbage, cauliflower, melon, brinjal and bhendi. 

DAMAGE SYMPTOMS:

Nymphs and adults suck the sap from the under surface of

leaves.

Severe infestation results in premature defoliation, development

of sooty mould, shedding of buds and poor boll opening.

It also transmits the leaf curl virus disease of cotton.

The insect is highly polyphagous.

Eggs

Adult is a minute insect with yellow body covered with a white

waxy bloom.

Eggs are laid on leaves.  Egg period is three days. 

Nymph is greenish yellow oval in outline.

Nymphal period is 5-33 days in summer, 17-73 days in winter.  

MANAGEMENTTimely sowing with recommended spacing, preferably wider

spacing is essential, avoid late sowing.

Avoid the alternative cultivated host crops of the whitefly (Brinjal,

bhendi, tomato and tobacco) in the vicinity of the cotton crop. 

Grow cotton only once in a year either in winter or summer season

in any cotton tract.

Adopt crop rotation with non-preferred hosts such as sorghum and

maize etc., to check the build up of the pest.

MANAGEMENTSpray NSKE 5% and neem oil 5 ml or fish oil rosin soap at 1 kg /

40 L of water

Spray any of the following insecticides with 500 L water/ha.

Imidacloprid 17.8 SL 100 -125 ml.

Ethion 50 EC 1. 5-2.0 kg.

Triazophos 40 EC 1.5-2 L.

Mealy bug (Phenacoccus solani)SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hemiptera

Family:Pseudococcidae

Genus : Phenacoccus

Species : solani

DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS: Recently in India the cotton crop in Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat is being seriously infested with mealy bug

HOST RANGE: Mealy bug is a polyphagous pest.

It feeds on Ornamental plants, fruit crops, vegetables and field

crops.

Nature of damage: Growing points become stunted

and swollenThick mat with waxy secretion on over

the plants Honey dew secretion and develop

black sooty mould Both nymphs and adult suck cell sap Causing withering and yellowing of

leaves Heavy infestation can defoliation and

even death of plants It affect the development of flowers

and stems In cotton, retarded growth and late

opening of bolls Inject saliva that caused curling &

contortion of leaves

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Mealy bugBiology:

• It reproduce mostly through Parthenogenesis

• Female lay eggs in cluster on twigs, branches,

• It Contain 600 eggs

• In some species, eggs hatch within the female and give births live larvae

Management

Management:Cultural & Mechanical:

construct physical barriers like (ants fences)Remove Crop residues & grasses. Field boarders should be weed free and free from debris Remove alternate hosts of mealy bug Manual picking of bugs Apply strong jet of water to remove Apply sticky bands like Track-trap to prevent crawlers

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Mealy bug• Apply methyl parathion 2% dust @ 25 kg/ha in soil and cultivate.

• In standing crop, apply chloropyriphos @ 2 l/ha through irrigation.

• Apply methyl parathion 2% dust @ 25 kg/ha on field boundaries/buds.

• Collect & destroy the leaves/parts of infested plants and spray any systemic insecticides on those plants.

• Uproot and destroy heavily infested plants carefully and apply methyl parathion 2% dust on those spots.

Control measures:

CONCLUSIONIntegrated Pest Management of cotton pests

Cultural Control:Cultivation of sucking pests tolerant genotypes (Bt-cotton or non Bt) to help in delay the first spray, thereby conserving the initial buildup natural enemies.

Intercrops like cowpea, sunflower, marigold, blackgram, to enhance natural enemies activity and to serve as trap crops.

Regular monitoring of pest after sowing of crop.

Destruction of cotton stalks after final picking is over.

Clean cultivation destroy alternate weed hosts growing on the field buds

Biological Control:

Release of Trichogramma chelonis @ 10 cc/ha in 40 bits/cc or 1,50,000 per hectare.

Conservation of spiders, anthocorids for bollworms management.

Release of Chrysoperla larvae @ 1 larva per plant

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CHRYSOPERLAAdult

Larva feeding on Aphid

Egg

Larvae

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Lady Bird Beetle• Adult & larva both feed

on Aphids.• During larval stage it

consumes 900 –1000 aphids

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Chemical Control: The pesticides should be used when absolutely necessary following the

ETL of the major pests.ETLs: Aphids : 20 % infested plants : 5 aphid / leaf

Jassid: 5 jassids/ leaf or : 50 jassids / 50 leaves or : Grade 2 in a scale of 0-4

Thrips : 50 thrips/ 50 leaves or : 15 % infested plants

Whitefly: 5 whitefly / leaf or : 20 nymphs/ leaf or : 10 adults / leaf counted before 9.00 a.m.

Note: When natural enemies are abundantly present, the ETL should be reaching double of the above figure before application of pesticides.

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synthetic insecticides Integrated Pest Management ( I P M )

Sr.No.

Insecticides Dose For which type of insect pests

1 Monocrotophos36 WSC 0.04% Sucking type 2 Endosulfan 35 EC 0.07% Chewing type 3 Acephate 75 SP 0.075% Sucking type 4 Carbaryl 50 WP 0.2% Chewing type 5 Quinalphos 25 EC 0.05% Chewing type 6 Profenophos 50 EC 0.05% Sucking type (thrips)7 Chlorpyriphos 25 EC 0.04% Chewing type 8 Triazophos 35 EC 0.04% Sucking type (thrips)9 Methyl O Demeton 25 EC 0.025% Sucking type 10 Dichlorvos (DDVP) 76 EC 0.05% Sucking type 11 Dimethoate 30 EC 0.03% Sucking type 12 Phenthoate 50 EC 0.1% Sucking type (Mite, Mealy

bug)13 Fenvalerate 20 EC 0.02% Chewing type 14 Cypermethrin 10 & 25 EC 0.02% Chewing type 15 Deltamethrin 2.8 EC 0.0028% Chewing type & jassid

References

Insect pest management in cotton (visit cotton cooperative research centre (CRC) website-www.daf.qld.au/../cotton

Tips on cotton insect pest for production of good quality cotton. Published by, B.M. Khadi, Director of central institute for cotton research ,March 2007

Cotton Aphids and Cotton Bunchy Top 14 Mar 08 (Compiled by the CSD Extension and Development Team)

Ermias Shonga, Kemal Ali and Ferdu Azrefegne (2013). Effect of Insecticide Rotation and Mixtures Use forResistance Management on Cotton Aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera, Aphididae) in Middle Awash Areas of Ethiopia. Vol.3 (7).pp.569-578.

ADVANCE IN COTTON IPM. Authours K.R kranthi and et al., published by Central institute for cotton research

References

• K. Natarajan Principal Scientist, Central Institute for Cotton Research,Regional Station, Coimbatore – 641 003, MANAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURALLY IMPORTANT SUCKING PESTS OF COTTON.

THANK YOU