5. Ground beetles:  Mesomorphus villiger, Seleron latipes, Opatroides frater (Tenebrionidae: Coleoptera)
 
Distribution and status: Widely distributed in tobacco growing region. Becomes serious occasionally

Damage symptoms
        
Cut the stem of newly transplanted seedlings. This damage is usually noticed more in dry years and during prolonged hot spells immediately after planting. In some years the damage is so heavy that replanting becomes necessary.

Bionomics

Dirty grey or black, hard bodied insects. The female lays from 1 to l00 white oval eggs singly on the surface of the soil, under grass weeds near moist area The egg and pupal periods are of only 2-10 days duration. A full-grown grub is about 25 mm in length and 1.2 mm in diameter. The larval and adult periods are long being 30 to 150 and 2 to 190 days respectively. Nearing pupation, the grubs become sluggish and slimy to touch, go into the soil at the depth of 15 to 30, cm and pupate. The total life period varies from 61 to 280 days.Eggs and larvae mainly occur in October-December, pupae only in December-May.

Management

• Protect the transplants till they establish and stems get hardened ( 4 weeks)
• Use endosulfan 35 EC @ 14 ml or chlorpyriphos 20EC 16 ml in 10 L of water @ 75 ml solution per plant in planting hole.
• Powder pongamia cake and mix in fine sand. Apply 5g of cake powder mixed in handful of sand (20-25g) at the base of seedling immediately after transplanting. (75 Kg pongamia cake is required per ha) or apply acephate 75 SP @ 10 gm in 10 L of water is applied @ 75 ml solution per plant in planting hole or mix chlorpyriphos 20 EC 1L with 16.5 kg jaggery and 66 kg rice bran (1:4 ratio) per ha and apply @ 5 g per plant at the plant base. 
• Keep heaps of grass in between crop rows after sprinkling water on the soil at a distance of 6 m apart to attract the beetles and dust with 5% carbaryl D at10 kg/ha next day.