Tomato Fruit Borer

 (Helicoverpa armigera)

Order: Lepidoptera

Family: Noctuidae

Tomato fruit borer is one of the most destructive pests of tomato. The adults lay majority of the eggs on the upper and lower leaf surfaces of the first four leaves in the top canopy. The larvae scrape the tomato foliage until early or late second instar stage. The larva bores into the fruit making it unfit for marketing. In severe cases of infestation, more than 80 per cent fruits get damaged.

Management

• Deep ploughing after harvesting the crop to expose the pupae for natural killing affords good protection.
• Use of African marigold (Tagitus erecta) as a trap crop is useful for management of the fruit borer.
• Setting up light traps to attract and kill the adult moths.
• Use of pheromone traps at 10-12 /hectare for the management of the fruit borer.
• Hand picking of larvae in small area is also recommended.
• Spray 5% Neem seed kernel extract to kill early stages larvae.
• Placement of 15-20 bird perches per ha helps in inviting insectivorous birds for management of the fruit borer.
• Use of NPV @ 250-300 LE/ha along with juggary @ 20 g/l when sprayed at 10 days interval also given protection against fruit borer.
• Spraying of Endosulfan 35EC @ 2.0l/ha or Cypermethrin 10EC @ 500 ml/ha in 250 liters of water /ha the first spray should be at the flowering stage and followed by sprays at either 10 or 15 days interval gives effective control of fruit borer.