PESTS OF CASTOR :: Major Pests :: Capsule & Shoot Borer

1.  Capsule & Shoot borer: Conogethes punctiferalis (Pyraustidae: Lepidoptera)

Distribution and status: India, Australia, Burma, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Host range: Castor, mango, sorghum ears, guava, peaches, cocoa, pear, avacado, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, mulberry, pomegranate, sunflower, cotton tamarind, hollyhock.

Damage symptoms: The damage is caused by the caterpillar, which bores into the main stem of young plant and ultimately into the capsules.  The borer is distributed throughout India where castor is grown.

Bionomics: Adult is medium sized with small black dots on pale yellow wings.  It lays eggs on the developing capsules.  Egg period is 6 days.  Larva measures 24 mm when fully grown.  Larva is pale green with pinkish tinge and fine hairs with dark head and prothoracic shield.  Larva lives under a cover of silk, frass and excreta.  Larval period is 12-16 days.  It pupates in the stem or capsule.

Management: Spraying the infested crop with endosulfan 35 EC 2.0 L (or) carbaryl 50 WP 2 kg or methyl parathion 50 EC 2.0 L @ 1000-1200 L water per hectare proved effective in controlling the pest.