wheat pest management – GW 322 Eng – eChoupal Advisory

Pest

Termites:

Symptoms

Termite damage the crop soon after sowing and near maturity.
The damaged plants dry up completely and are easily pulled out.
The plants damaged at later stages give rise to white ears.

Control

Seed treatment with thiamethoxam 70WS @ 0.7 g a.i./kg seed (4.5 ml product dose/kg seed) or fipronil @ 0.3 g a.i./kg seed or 4.5 ml product dose /kg seed) is also very effective.

APHIDS:

Symptoms

Aphids damage the crop resulting in discolouration of leaves.
Aphid infestation above economic threshold level of 5 aphids per ear head (recorded from 10 randomly selected ear heads in each of the 4 quarters of one acre field) is dangerous.

Control

For the management of aphids, foliar spray of Imidacloprid 200SL @ 40ml/acre on border rows at the start of the aphid colonization be given.

Pink Stem Borer:

Symptoms

Pink stem borer generally attacks the wheat crop at seedling stage.
The larva bore into the stem of young plant and kills the central shoot causing ‘dead heart’.

Control

For its management, foliar spray of Quinalphos 400 ml/acre as soon as pink stem borer is seen. Irrigation also helps in reducing the pink stem borer damage.

Ear Cockle:

Symptoms

Diseased plants have spreading tendency and swollen base, leaves become crinkled and twisted.
Ear heads contain dark-brown, hard and roundish galls instead of grains.
Severely diseased plants are stunted and may die at seedling stage.
Occurrence of yellow, slimy mass indicates ear rot phase which prevents grain and gall formation.

Control

Farmers should adopt floatation technique for the separation of galls from the infested seed lots.
The infested seed lot should be floated in 2% brine solution for this purpose. The galls will float on the surface. These should be separated and destroyed away from the field by burning.
The seed should be thoroughly washed to remove the salt solution before sowing.