INSECT PESTS OF MAIZE

Maize Stem Borer

 Identification,
 Mode of damage
 Control

Eggs masses Larva Pupae Adult female Adult male

Maize Stem Borer
SCIENTIFIC NAME : CHILO PARTELLUS

FAMILY : PYRALIDAE

ORDER : LEPIDOPTERA
 Identification

 Adult : Moths are yellowish grey. Fore wing are straw colored with double row of black
spot. Hind wing are smoky .
 Egg : Eggs are whitish when laid later change to orange and then black before
hatching. They are flat, oval and scale like in shape.
 Larva : Larva is dirty greyish white with black head, and four longitudinal
stripes present on back of larvae .
 Pupa : Pupa is cylindrical, brownish yellow and later on turns to reddish brown.

Eggs masses Larva Pupae Adult female Adult male

 Damaged grains
YELLOW STREAKS

MODE OF WINDOWS

DAMAGE
Damaged & dried
 It is a serious pest of maize and about 25-40 % of young tasselling
plants are destroyed. Gun-shot holes
 In severe infestation up to 90% plants have been found Tunnel in center of cob
damaged.
 Newly hatched caterpillar start feeding on leaves leaving
behind holes which are referred as GUN-SHOT HOLES.
 First instars (1st and 2nd) just scratch the chlorophyll of
the leaves leaving behind YELLOW STREAKS and
WINDOS/WINDOW-PANES appearance
 Larva tunnels in the stem and kill the central
shoot which
HEART.
dries. This died central shoot of plant is called Damaged cob &
DEAD pollination tubes
 The infested plants shows the symptoms of “DEAD
HEART”.
 At tasseling stage, the borers destroy the tassel by
feeding on them.
 The pest enter the ear from its base and makes the Dead hearts
tunnel in center of cob.
 The larva feeds on pollination tubes and grains of cobs
as well.
 Damaged grains
YELLOW STREAKS

DAMAGE WINDOWS

SYMPTOMS
Damaged & dried
tasselling
 GUN-SHOT HOLES ON LEAVES.
Tunnel in center of cob GUN-SHOT HOLES
 YELLOW STREAKS and WINDOS/WINDOW-
PANES appearance on leaves
 DEAD HEART formation.
 Damaged and dried tassels
 Tunnel in center of cob.
Damaged cob &
 Damaged pollination tubes and grains of pollination tubes
cobs.

Dead hearts
 YELLOW STREAKS & WINDOWS
PANES

Gunshot holes

Damages
Windows

Tunnel inside stem

filled with feces

WINDOS AND RAGGED LEAVES

Dead heart
Tunnel formed Cob

damages Cob
Dead heart
damages Cob
 Control of Maize stem borer

 Non chemical control : Destroy the stubbles of maize, weeds and alternate host plant.
 Removal and destruction of dead hearts.
 Ploughing up the infested fields can suppress pest attack.
 Use light traps to kill moths.
 Collect and destroy egg clusters.
 Using the Trichogramma sp. along with Apanteles sp. or Microbracon sp. provide effective control
 Chemical control
 Deltamethrin, 200 ml/acre.
Maize Shoot fly
Scientific Name : Atherigona soccata

Family : Muscidae

Order : Diptera
Identification
Adult : Female is pale grey with yellowish abdomen
Male : is smaller than female.
Egg : Eggs are opaque white.
Larva : Yellowish Brown when full grown.
Pupa : Pale white but change to brown.
 Mode of damage
 Larvae enter the central shoot and start to feed
on it.
 This central shoot later dries up as Dead heart.
 It is serious pest especially on
summer sown
crop. Dead heart
 It attacks on 3-4 days old plant as a result
deformed, twisted leaves and dead hearted are
formed on plant

DAMAGE SYMPTOMS
 Dead heart.

 Deformed, twisted plants

Deformed, twisted plants Deformed, twisted plants

 Control
Non chemical control :
• Use higher seed rate.
• Removal and destruction of attacked plant on the appearance of dead hearts.
• Sowing of resistance varieties.
• Early sowing of crop can prevent from the attack of this insect
Chemical control :
• Furathiocarb, 40 ml/ kg seed.
 Female Male

Fall
Armyworm
T.N: Spodoptera frugiperda
Family: Noctuidae
Order: Lepidoptera Female

Male
Reniform indistinct spot, faintly outlined in
black, with a small v-shaped mark
Adult: Outer wings of male moths have
whitish patches at the lower outer light brown orbicular spot, somewhat oval
edges, while inner wings are white with and oblique in shape
dark trimmings. white patch at the apical margin of the wing

Eggs: The egg masses are cream, grey or

whitish with felt-like covering.
 Female Male

Fall
Armyworm
Larvae:
 The caterpillar has a dark head with
an upside down pale Y-shaped
marking on the front.
 Each of the body segments has a Female
pattern of four raised spots when
seen from above.
 Four smaller spots in a shape of Male
trapezium
 Pale dorsal line along midline of
dorsal side
 Two light bands on sides with dark
band in between
Mode of damage
 Larvae cause damage by consuming foliage.
 Young larvae initially consume leaf tissue from one side, leaving the
opposite epidermal layer intact.
 By the second or third instar, larvae begin to make holes in leaves, and eat from
the edge of the leaves inward.
 Feeding in the whorl of corn often produces a characteristic row of perforations
in the leaves.
 Older larvae cause extensive defoliation, often leaving only the ribs and stalks
of corn plants, or a ragged, torn appearance.
 Management
 Sampling: Moth populations can be sampled with light traps and pheromone traps .
 Granular insecticides are also applied over the young plants because the
particles fall deep into the whorl.
 Biological control: Bacillus thuringiensis presently is feasible, and success depends
on having the product on the foliage when the larvae first appear.
Wheat
Aphid
 Identification:
 Aphids-Adults are minute, soft bodied, oblong,
light green or pale yellow.
 They are characterized by the presence of 2 tubes
like structures on the dorsal side of abdomen
called CORNICLES.
 They are generally wingless but winged forms are
often noticed usually in the beginning and towards
end of season for migration to other crops.
 Nymphs: Smaller and greenish, Wingless
 Resemble the adults in form and coloration except
that they are smaller.
 On the onset of summer when wheat is ripe,
winged males and females forms are produced
and they migrate to other plants including wild
grasses
Nature of damage
 Both nymphs and adults suck the sap from plant especially from the
leaves.
 As a result the leaves turn yellow and in case of heavy infestation
the plants remain stunted.
 CONTROL
Non Chemical Control
 Rope dragging over infested wheat crop is recommended to reduce its attack.
 Ladybird beetle, Coccinella septempunctata and Braconid parasitoid are
common and most effective biocontrol agent of this pest.
 Installation of yellow sticky traps
Chemical Control
 Chemical control on wheat is not recommended