Turmeric

Insect Management

Introduction

The common insects pests in turmeric are

Common Name
Scientific Name
Stage affected
Shoot borer Conogethes punctiferalis All stages of the crop
Leaf roller Udaspes folus 2-5 months
Rhizome scale Aspidiella hartii Rhizome formation
Lace wing bug Stephanitis typicus 2-5 months
Thrips Panchaetothrips indicus 2-4 months
Bihar hairy caterpillar Diacrisia obliqua 2-5 months
Rhizome fly Mimegralla coeruleifrons Rhizome formation

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Sap feeders - Lace wing bug

Stephanitis typicus

  • The occurrence of this pest on turmeric leaves was reported by Fletcher (1914).

Symptoms

  • The foliage of infested plants turns pale or yellow and dries up.

Management

  • Spraying with any of the following effectively controls the pest.
    • Dimethoate 30 EC - 850 ml/ha
    • Phosphamidon 85 WSC - 300 ml/ha
  • Aspidiella curcumae and an unidentified mealy bug are the other sap feeders.

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Leaf Feeders

Caterpillar pests

  • Diacrisia obliqua
  • Catopsila pomona
  • Bombotelia nugatrix

Symptoms of damage

  • Gregarious young caterpillars feed upon the chlorophyll layer of the leaf exposing the veins.
  • Late instar caterpillars are voracious eaters of turmeric leaves.
  • The affected leaves look dead and dried and easily fall off.

Management

  • Use of light traps.
  • Collection and destruction of egg masses.
  • Digging trenches around the field
  • Dusting carbaryl 10 D (25 kg/ha)

Beetle pest

Epilachna sparsa

Weevil pest

Myllocerus viridanus

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Leaf roller, Udaspes folus

  • It is a specific and serious pest of turmeric.
  • It was first recorded on turmeric by Lefroy (1909).

Stage and symptoms

  • The larvae cut and fold the leaves, remain within and feed on them, pupates inside the leaf

Bionomics

    1. Life history of the pest was studied under laboratory conditions (temperature 26- 35oC, relative humidity 41 - 100%).
    2. Adults are medium sized with brownish black wings with eight white spots on forewings and one large patch on hind wing.
    3. The egg, larval and pupal periods last for 3-4, 12-21 and 6-7 days respectively.
    4. Pinkish oval flat eggs are laid singly or in groups or 2 or 3 on leaves.
    5. There are five larval instars, fully grown larvae are dark green with black head and constricted neck.
    6. The pest is abundant in the field during August - October.
    7. The leaf roller has been recorded on castor, guava, peaches cacao, pear, avacado, jack, mango , wild lilies, arrow root, Curcuma angustifolia, Elettaria cardamomum, Aframomum melegueta, C. amada and Hedychium sp.
    8. The natural enemies recorded on leaf roller include

  • Ceromyia sp.
  • Apanteles sp.
  • Sympiesis sp.
  • Brachymeria coxodentata
  • Mermethid nematodes

    1. The overall mean percentage of parasitization of caterpillars in the field during the entire season went upto 26.4 per cent.
    2. Enterobacter cloacae and Pseudomonas sp. were also isolated from diseased larvae.

Management

  • Spraying with any one of the following insecticides controls the pest.

    1. Carbaryl 50 WP : 1000 g/ha
    2. Dimethoate 30 EC : 850 ml/ha
    3. Phosphamidon 85 WSC : 300 ml/ha

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Rhizome scale aspidiella hartii

  • The rhizome scale infests rhizomes of turmeric both in field and in storage.
  • The pest was first reported on turmeric by Ayyar (1940).

Stage and symptoms

  • In the field, in severe cases of infestation, the plants wither and dry.
  • In storage, the pest infestaton results in shrivelling of buds and rhizomes; when infestation is severe, it adversely affects sprouting of rhizomes.

Bionomics

  • The adult females are minute, circular and light brown to grey.
  • Females are ovo-viviparous and also reproduce parthenogenetically, about 100 eggs are laid by a single female.
  • Rhizome scales were also recorded on

  •       Amorphophallus companulatus
  • Dioscorea alata

  •       Xanthosoma sagittifolium

The natural enemies recorded on rhizome scale include:

  • Physcus comperei
  • Adelencyrtus moderatus and two types of mites.

Management

  • Use of scale insect resistant variety like BSR 2.
  • Seed rhizomes are dipped in the insecticidal solutions of any one of the following:

    1. Dichlorvos 76 WSC : 0.7ml/lit
    2. Phosalone 35 EC : 1.5 ml/lit for 15 minutes
    3. Monocrotophos 36 WSC : 1.5 ml/lit
    4. Quinalphos 25 EC : 2 ml/lit for 5 minutes

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Rhizome feeders

  • Rhizome maggots/Rhizome flies
  • Mimegralla coeruleifrons
  • Calobata sp.
  • Chalcidomyia atricornis
  • Formosina flavipes
  • Celyphus sp.
  • Eumerus albeifrons

Symptoms of damage

  • The maggots bore into and feed on the rhizomes and are generally seen in plants affected by rhizome rot disease.

Biology (M. coeruleifrons)

  • The adult fly lays eggs in soil in the vicinity of the plants.
  • The egg, larval and pupal periods last 3.5, 16.8 and 13.5 days respectively.
  • The adult has a longevity of 18 days.
  • The fly completes its life cycle in 38-62 days.
  • The puparia are parasitized by Trichopria sp.

Varietal resistance

  • Krishna, a clonal selection from Tekurpet (AP) is moderately resistant to rhizome fly

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Shoot Borer

Conogethes punctiferalis

  • It is the most important serious pest of turmeric and it was first recorded by Fletcher (1914).

Stage and symptoms

  • The larvae bore into pseudostems and feed on the growing shoot resulting in yellowing and drying of infested shoots.
  • The larvae bores into the rhizome also.
  • The presence of bore holes in the pseudostem through which frass is extruded and the withered central shoots (dead hearts) are characteristics symptoms of pest infestation.

Crop Loss

  • When 50 per cent of the pseudostem in a clump was affected, there was a reduction of 38 g of yield per clump.

Bionomics

    1. Under laboratory conditions (temperature range 30 - 33oC, relative humidity range 60 - 90%), the egg period lasted for 3-4 days. There were five larval instars and the larval periods were 3-4, 5, 3-7, 3-8 and 7-14 days respectively for the five instars.
    2. Full grown larvae were light brown/pale green and 16-26 mm in length. The prepupal and pupal periods were 3-4 and 9-10 days respectively.
    3. Larva pupates inside the affected pseudostem in a thin silk cocoon.
    4. The adult is a medium sized moth with orange yellow wings with small black spots. Adult females laid 30-60 pinkish oval flat eggs during their life span.
    5. In the field, 6-7 generations were completed during a crop season.
    6. The shoot borer is highly polyphagous. The alternate hosts include cardamom, guava, mango, peaches, pomegranate, jack, ginger, avacado, mulberry, loquat, pear, sorghum, cacao, castor, tamarind, amaranthus, soapnut, holly hocks, Caesalpinia bonducella, Anona and Cherimelia.
    7. The natural enemies of shoot borer include:

  • Angitia (=Dioctes) tronchanterata
  • Xanthopimpla australis
  • Microbracon hebetor
  • Theromia inareolata
  • Bracon brevicornis
  • B. nosatoi
  • B. lasus
  • Phanerotoma hendecasisella
  • Myosoma sp.
  • Apanteles sp
  • Dolichurus sp.
  • Brachymeria euloeae,
  • Mermethid nematode, dermapteran, asilid flies and spider.

Management

  • Among the 13 turmeric types observed, Dindigam Ca-68 was least susceptible and Amruthapani, Kothapeta and C 11-317 most susceptible. Among the 19 turmeric types screened, Mannuthy local was the most tolerant
  • Spraying any one of the following during July - October was the most effective.
    1. 1. Malathion 50 EC - 1000 ml/ha
      2. Dimethoate 30 EC - 850 ml/ha
      3. Quinalphos 25 EC - 500 ml/ha

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Thrips Panchatothrips indicus

  • The other thrips found on turmeric include Anaphothrips sudanensis

Symptoms

  • The infested leaves roll up, turn pale and gradually dry up.
  • The development of rhizomes is reduced, when the infestation is severe.
  • This species was always found associated with Asprothrips indicus

Management

  • Spraying with any one of the following controls P. indicus
  • Dimethoate 30 EC - 1000 ml/ha
  • Methyl demeton 25 EC - 850 ml/ha

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