Introduction

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on pest management in red gram! Red gram, also known as pigeon pea, is a crucial crop worldwide, valued for its nutritional benefits and resilience. However, like any crop, it faces challenges from various pests that can impact yield and quality. In this blog, we delve into effective strategies and sustainable practices for managing pests in red gram, ensuring healthier crops and improved yields. Whether you're a farmer, researcher, or enthusiast, join us as we explore practical solutions to safeguard your red gram harvest.

Gram pod borer: Helicoverpa armigera

Symptoms of damage:

Defoliation in early stages Larva’s head alone thrust inside the pods and the rest of the body hanging out.

Pods with round holes

Identification of the pest:

Eggs – are spherical in shape and creamy white in colour, laid singly

Larva - shows colour variation from greenish to brown. Green with dark brown, grey lines laterally on the body with lateral white lines and also has dark and pale bands.

Pupa – brown in colour, occurs in soil, leaf, pod and crop debris

Adult - light pale brownish yellow stout moth. Fore wings are grey to pale brown with V shaped speck.Hind wings are pale smoky white with a broad blackish outer margin.

Management:

For pod borers, raise one row of sunflower as intercrop for every 9 rows of pigeon pea and plant maize as border crop.

Pheromone traps for Helicoverpa armigera 12/ha Bird perches 50/ha Mechanical collection of grown-up larva and blister beetle

Ha NPV 3 x1012 POB/ha in 0.1% teepol

Apply any one of the following insectcides:

Azadirachtin 0.03 % WSP 2500-5000 g/ha

Bacillus thuringiensis serovar kurstaki (3a,3b,3c) 5%WP1000-1250 g/ha

Dimethoate 30% EC 1237 ml/ha

Emamectin benzoate 5% SG 220 g/ha

Indoxacarb 15.8% SC 333 ml/ha

Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC 150ml/ha

Spinosad 45%SC 125-162 ml/ha

NSKE 5% twice followed by triazophos 0.05%

Neem oil 2%

Phosalone 0.07% (Spray fluid 625 ml/ha)

Note: Insecticide / Ha NPV spray

Blue butterfly: Lampides boeticus

Symptoms of damage:

Buds, flowers and young pods with boreholes

The presence of slug like caterpillar.

Honey dew secretion with black ant movements

Identification of the pest:

Larva – It is flat and slightly rounded, Pale green with a rough skin.

Adult - moth is greyish blue with prominent black spots in the hind wings and a long tail, Ventral side of wings with numerous stripes and brown spots

Management:

Avoid dense and close planting

Avoid early or late sowing

Regular soil digging cause death of larvae and pupae

Egg parasitoid, Trichogramma spp., Larval parasitoids, Hyperencyrtus lucoenephila and Litrodromus crassipes

Carbaryl 50 WP@ 1000 kg / ha

Grass blue butterfly: Euchrysops cnejus

Symptoms of damage:

Buds, flowers and young pods with boreholes and presence of slug like caterpillar.

The larval entry hole on the pod is plugged with excreta

Identification of the pest:

Larva - pale green or yellow with a red line and short black hair on the body.

Adult - butterfly is blue, medium sized with 5 black spots in the hind wings and two black spots in the inner margin.

Management:

ETL 10% affected parts

Deep summer ploughing in 2-3 years to eliminate quiescent pupa.

Early sowing, short duration varieties.

Avoid closer plant spacing.

Grow tall sorghum as comparison crop to serve as biological bird perches

Collect and destroy larvae and adults to the extent possible

Install pheromone traps at a distance of 50 m @ 5 traps/ha for each insect pest.

Install Bird perches @ 50/ha. Setting of light traps (1 light trap/5 acre) to kill moth population.

Control is achieved by releasing of Trichogramma chlionis at weekly intervals @1.5 lakh/ha/ week for four times.

Conserve green lacewing, predatory stink bugs, spider, ants

Application of NPV 250 LE /ha with teepol 0.1% and Jaggery 0.5% thrice at 10 – 15 days interval commencing from flowering stage. (Note: Insecticide / Ha NPV spray should be applied when the larvae are in early stage).

Bt @ 600 g, neem oil/ pungum oil 80 EC @ 2ml/lit

Spray NSKE 5% twice followed by triazophos 0.05%.

Apply any one of insecticides at 25 kg/ha quinalphos 4D, carbaryl 5D

Spray insecticide Quinalphos 25 EC @ 1000 ml/ha.

Summary

Red gram, a delicious and nutritious pulse crop, faces a challenge from pod-loving pests. The gram pod borer, a villainous larva with a taste for developing seeds, burrows into pods, leaving tell-tale round holes. But red gram isn't defenseless! Farmers can employ a variety of tactics to outsmart these pests. Planting companion crops like sunflowers disrupts the borer's hideouts, while attracting natural predators like birds with perches helps keep the pest population in check. In some cases, organic solutions like neem oil can be effective. Luckily, with a bit of planning and these clever strategies, red gram can thrive and deliver its bountiful harvest.

FAQs:

How do bird perches help control the pod borer population?

What are some of the limitations of using neem oil as a pest control method?

Are there any specific signs to watch out for that indicate it's time to use neem oil or other organic controls?