Farm varsity sources have cautioned farmers to be alert to sucking pest infestation during the month of April. Warning apart, the scientists have suggested ways and means to control the infestation across various cropping systems.

Installation of yellow sticky traps would help monitor the movement of sucking pests, TNAU experts said in a release

Having noticed the incidence of leaf borer and stem borer in paddy across Erode, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram and Villupuram districts, farmers have been advised to spray neem seed kernel extract and set up light trap to monitor the movement of adults.

For control of bacterial leaf blight in rice, the growers have been advised to spray diluted kocide.

To suppress the yellow mosaic virus incidence in blackgram, farmers have been advised to spray dimethoate or methyl demeton after mixing it in water.

Setting up yellow sticky trap to monitor the population of jassids and thrips would help control the spread of these pests in cotton, particularly in Dharmapuri, Theni and Tirunelveli districts, the note said.

Having noticed the borer pest in sugarcane in Coimbatore, Erode and Cuddalore districts, farmers have been advised to release egg parasitoids, Trichogramma from the fourth month at interval of 15 days.

As for groundnut, the possibility of an outbreak of leaf miner has not been ruled out, if normal rain is not received during the next fortnight, particularly in Erode, Coimbatore, Tindivanam, Villupuram, Ramanathapuram and Thiruvarur districts, where the crop is grown in a big way and the incidence of leaf miner noticed.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW