Conogethes Punctiferalis Guenee Research Articles

Efficacy of Biopesticides and Insecticides against Lepidopteran Pests in Rainfed Castor

Field experiments were conducted during kharif 2022 to evaluate the bio-efficacy of biopesticides and insecticides against tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura (F.);semilooper, Achaea janata L. and shoot and capsule borer, Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee on castor. The results revealed that, all the insecticide treatments were significantly superior over untreated control. The highest% reduction of lepidopteran pest complex over the control after three sprays was recorded with spinetoram 11.7 SC followed by cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD, Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) SC, profenophos 50 EC, lambda cyhalothrin 5 EC and B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) WP 1.5, Beauveria bassiana SC and Neemazal 10000 PPM. Highest seed yield was recorded with spinetoram (1434 kg/ ha) followed by cyantraniliprole (1338 kg/ ha) as against 940 kg/ ha in untreated control. The maximum incremental cost-benefit ratio of 1:3.13 was obtained with application of spinetoram followed by lambda-cyhalothrin (1:3.00) and Btk SC (1:2.73).

Seasonal incidence and biology of Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) on Guava

Studies on seasonal incidenceof castor capsule borer, Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in guava crop were carried out under field conditions at horticultural research farm,Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. The results revealed that the pest was found to infest both the rainy as well as winter season guava crop. During rainy season, peak infestation (16%) of C. punctiferalis on guava was recorded in 3rd& 5th week of August in picked fruits while in dropped fruits, peak infestation (11.63%) was recorded in 3rd week of August. During winter season, peak infestation (8%) of C. punctiferalis on guava was recorded in 2nd week of December and March in picked fruits while in dropped fruits, peak infestation (11.11%) was recorded in 2nd week of March. The life cycle of C. punctiferalis was completed in 34-46 days and the pest completed multiple generations in a year.

Management of shoot and capsule borer of small cardamom through insecticides and bio-pesticides

Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is considered to be an important pest causing damage to the cardamom suckers as well as capsules. Among the evaluated insecticides and bio-pesticides, Flubendiamide 480 SC showed the maximum reduction of shoot damage (13.00% incidence) after spray followed by Carbosulfan 25 EC (15.80% incidence). The untreated control showed 30.00 per cent of shoot damage. Similarly, Acetamiprid 20 SP SC showed the maximum reduction of capsule damage (15.15% incidence) after spray followed by Flubendiamide 480 SC and Thiamethoxam 70 WS (16.00% incidence) which were on par with each other. The untreated control showed 22.22 per cent of capsule damage. The bio-pesticides, Poneem and Econeem plus showed minimum shoot damage (22.00 and 21.40%) compared to control. Similarly, Poneem and Econeem plus showed minimum capsule damage (17.40 and 16.45%) which were on par with other treatments and superior over untreated control. Maximum benefit cost ratio was noticed in Flubendiamide (1:4.05) followed by Carbosulfan (1:3.87) and Acetamiprid (1:3.60).

Evidence of Male Pheromone in Conogethes punctiferalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee is a polyphagous insect pest that is difficult to manage because it feeds within plant tissue. Management by mass trapping using semiochemicals, especially pheromones, represents a viable option to control such borers. Herein, pheromonal compounds were extracted from male and female moths and assessed using headspace sampling and electroantennogram response. One-d-old C. punctiferalis showed a higher response to volatile solvents than 4-d-old ones, irrespective of sex. The male antenna was found more sensitive than the female for volatile compounds. However, the female response to male headspace extract and abdominal tip extract was very high (i.e., 4.006 mV and 2.217 mV, respectively), which revealed the presence of males producing a female-attracting olfactory cue in C. punctiferalis. This was also confirmed by males calling the female before mating by extruding the hair pencils in their abdominal tip. The male pheromone extract when analyzed in gas chromatography–mass spectrometry indicated the presence of methyl acetophenone or 3-ethyl acetophenone.

Management of cardamom borer, Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee and thrips, Sciothrips cardamomi Ramk using diafenthiuron and its residues in fresh and cured cardamom capsules

ABSTRACTCardamom is an important spice crops used all over the world as a flavoring agent of food materials. The productivity is limited by insect pests and thus effective insecticide which does not leave residues in the produce is the need of the hour. Diafenthiuron 50 WP @ 300 g a.i ha−1 was found effective in managing both the cardamom shoot and capsule borer, Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee and thrips, Sciothrips cardamomi Ramk and thus can be recommended for pest management. Cardamom capsules were collected from the plants that were sprayed with diafenthiuron at the recommended dose of 200 g a.i ha−1 and double the dose (400 g a.i ha−1), which were then analyzed under HPLC with a normal phase column. The diafenthiuron residue was below the detectable levels of 0.05 µg g−1 in the harvested produce (both fresh and cured) after twelve and fourteen days of spray. So, capsules can be harvested safely without any risk of insecticide residues 12 days after spraying of diafenthiuron and thus can be recommended for usage in cardamom plantations.

Studies on relative fitness and off-season activity of castor capsule borer, Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee (Lepidoptera : Crambidae)

Castor capsule borer, Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee is a keypest of economic importance in the rainfed castor belts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The polyphagous pest was found to infest 36 crop plants in India. In the recent years, occurrence of host races or cryptic species have been reported in different host-associated populations of C. punctiferalis. In the present study, oviposition responses and relative fitness of C. punctiferalis on five economically important hosts viz., castor, ginger, turmeric, maize and guava was studied under laboratory conditions. Among five hosts, C. punctiferalis preferred castor and maize for oviposition, while there was no oviposition was recorded on ginger, turmeric and guava. The fecundity, per cent hatching, pupation and adult emergence was 23.6 and 18.6 eggs, 64.4 and 60.2 per cent, 87.7 and 87.3 per cent and 94.9 and 93.0 per cent on castor and maize, respectively. The average larval and pupal periods were 17.15 and 8.27 days on castor, while it was 18.1 and 8.76 days on maize. Field survey was conducted to study off-season activity and carry-over of castor capsule borer, C. punctiferalis during March to July, 2014 and 2015. Among 12 alternate hosts surveyed, off-season multiplication of C. punctiferalis was recorded on perennial castor, guava fruits and mango inflorescence in both the years. Laboratory rearing of the larvae and pupae of C. punctiferalis collected on the alternate hosts revealed that there was no diapause in any stage ofits life cycle during the off-season. The present results provide informative data on relative fitness and off-season activity of C. punctiferalis on alternate hosts will be useful in developing strategies for the management of this pest.

Calling Behavior and Attractive Response of Cardamom Shoot and Capsule Borer Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) to the Female Crude Extract and Synthetic Blend

Calling Behavior and Attractive Response of Cardamom Shoot and Capsule Borer Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) to the Female Crude Extract and Synthetic Blend

Intercropping for Management of Insect Pests of Castor,Ricinus communis, in the Semi—Arid Tropics of India

Intercropping is one of the important cultural practices in pest management and is based on the principle of reducing insect pests by increasing the diversity of an ecosystem. On—farm experiments were conducted in villages of semi—arid tropical (SAT) India to identify the appropriate combination of castor (Ricinus communis L.) (Malpighiales: Euphorbiaceae) and intercropping in relation to pest incidence. The diversity created by introducing cluster bean, cowpea, black gram, or groundnut as intercrops in castor (1:2 ratio proportions) resulted in reduction of incidence of insect pests, namely semilooper (Achaea janata L.), leaf hopper (Empoasca flavescens Fabricius), and shoot and capsule borer (Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee). A buildup of natural enemies (Microplitis, coccinellids, and spiders) of the major pests of castor was also observed in these intercropping systems and resulted in the reduction of insect pests. Further, these systems were more efficient agronomically and economically, and were thus more profitable than a castor monocrop.

Toxicity of diafenthiuron to honey bees in laboratory, semi-field and field conditions

Cardamom, an important spice crop often attacked by many insect pests, is controlled mainly using synthetic insecticides. As honey bees play a vital role in pollination in cardamom, the impact of insecticides on honey bees needs to be explored to assess its safety. Risk assessment based on contact toxicity revealed diafenthiuron to be a non-selective insecticide to bees with a low selectivity ratio (the ratio between the LD(50) for beneficial and pest species). A dose of diafenthiuron that killed 90% of cardamom borer, Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee, was found to kill 100% of Indian bees. Based on the hazard ratio (the ratio between the field-recommended dose and the LD(50) for the beneficial), diafenthiuron was found to be slightly to moderately toxic to bees. Diafenthiuron, even at low concentrations of LC(1) (the concentration that killed 1% of bees), was found to affect the foraging and homing behaviour of Indian bees. Of bees fed with 30 microg mL(-1) of diafenthiuron, 40% were found missing on the third day after exposure. However, diafenthiuron did not affect bee visits to the cardamom fields. Diafenthiuron is more highly toxic to Apis cerana indica F. than to C. punctiferalis by contact, using selectivity ratio and probit substitution methods of risk assessment, but the hazard ratio revealed diafenthiuron to be a slightly to moderately toxic chemical. Diafenthiuron was found to affect the foraging and homing behaviour of bees at sublethal concentrations. Thus, sublethal effects are more relevant in risk assessment than lethal and acute effects.