Spotted Pod Borer in pigeonpea

A major pest of red gram and other legume crops. Recently this pest out break during 2-3 years. Food availability, Broad leaf, cultivation  of medium and local varieties, weather condition, breeding habits close  flowering are responsible for outbreak in the region. It also causes damage to green gram, black gram, lab-lab and on the leaves of daincha a green manure

Appearance:

Eggs are yellow and oval, greenish larva with brown head and short dark hairs on black warts on the body. Pupates is a thin  silken cocoon on the pod or leaf fold. Pupa being yellow with greenish body. The moth has white patches on the dark brown forewings and a dark border on the white hind wings.

                 Larva                                                                 Adult

Life cycle:

Eggs are laid in small clusters of 10 to 15 on leaves, buds, and flowers. Pupation in silken cocoon in leaf webbings or in soil.

Nature of damage:

• The larva webs together the leaves, buds and pods and feeds inside these webs.
•  The larva bores into the pods and eats up the ripening seeds.

Damage symptoms:

•  Webbed mass of leaves, buds, and pods.
•  A crown mass of excrement is seen at the entrance into the larval burrow.
•  Maruca is both a foliage feeder and pod borer.

                  Webbed leaves & Buds                                                       Pod Damage