INSECT PESTS OF CRUCIFER

INSECT PESTS OF CRUCIFER

• Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, radish, mustard

etc are major crucifer crops.
• Many insect pests infect the crucifer crops
reducing the productivity and quality of
product.
 Major insect pests
• Cabbage butterfly, Pieris brassicae / Pieris brassicae
nepalensis (Lepidoptera : Pieridae)
• Diamond Back Moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera:
Plutellidae)
• Flea Beetle, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Coleoptera;
Chyrosmelidae)
• Mustard Sawfly, Athalia lugens (Hymenoptera:
Tenthredinidae)
• Mustard Aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (Homoptera: Aphididae)
• Cabbage Aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae (Homoptera:
Aphididae)
• Cutworms, Agrotis segetum/ Agrotis ipsilon (Lepidoptera:
Noctuidae)
Cabbage butterfly Diamond back moth Flea beetle

Mustard sawfly Cabbage aphid cutworm

 Minor insect pests
• Tobacco Caterpillar, Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
• Soyabean Hairy Caterpillar, Spilarctia casigneta (Lepidoptera:
Arctiidae)
• Semilooper, Thysanoplusia orichalcea/ Chrysodeixis chalcites
(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
• Leaf Webber, Crocidolomia binotalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)
• Rice Grasshopper, Attractomorpha crenulata (Orthoptera: Acrididae)
• Painted Bug, Bagrada hilaris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)
• Green Stink Bug, Nezara antennata (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)
• Leaf Miner, Phytomyza horticola (Diptera: Agromyzidae)
• Red Ant, Dorylus orientalis/ D. labiatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
• White Grub, Phyllophaga rugosa (Coleoptera : Scarabaeidae)
 Cabbage butterfly, Pieris
brassicae (Lepidoptera:
Pieridae)
• It is serious pest of cabbage, cauliflower, knol khol & also attack turnip,
radish, sarsoo, mustard and other cruciferous crops.
• Damage is caused by caterpillars only, when full grown measure 40-50
mm in length.
• The young larvae are pale yellow and become greenish yellow later on.
The head is black and the dorsum is marked with black spots. The
body is decorated with short hairs.
• The butterflies are pale white and have a smoky shade on the dorsal
side of the body.
• The wings are pale white, with a black patch on the apical angle of each
forewing and black spot on the costal margin of each hind wing.
• The females measure 6.5 cm across the spread wings and have two
conspicuous black circular dots on the dorsal side of each forewing.
• Males are smaller than the females and have two black spots on the
underside of each forewing.
 Life cycle:
• This pest appears on cruciferous vegetables at the beginning of October
and remains active up to the end of April.
• From May to September, the pest is not found in the plain but breeding
takes place in the mountains.
• The butterfly very active in the field and lay, on an average, 164 yellowish
conical eggs in clusters of 50-90 on the upper or lower sides of the
leaves.
• The eggs hatch in 11-17 days in November- February & 3-7 days in March
– May.
• The caterpillars feed gregariously during the early instars & disperse as
they approach maturity.
• They pass through five stages & are full fed in 15-22 days during March –
April and 30-40 days during November –February.
• Pupation generally takes place in cocoon hanging in wall, branches and
other plant parts.
• The pupal stage lasts 7.7- 14.4 days in March – April and 20-28 days in
November –February.
• The butterflies live for 2.5 -12.5 days.
 Damage:
• The caterpillar alone cause damage.
• The first instars caterpillar just scrap the leaf
surface
• Whereas the subsequent instars eat up leaves
form the margin inwards, leaving intact the
main veins.
• Often entire plants are eaten.
 Management:
• Hand picking and mechanical destruction of caterpillar
during early stage of attack can reduce infestation.
• Conservation of natural enemies like Assasian bugs,
paper wasps etc.
• Release of Trichogramma, Apanteles glomeratus etc.
• Spray commercial formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis
@1-2 g/liter of water
• Spray 1 liter of malathion 50EC in 250 liters of water
per ha & Repeat spraying at 10- day interval if
necessary.
 Diamond Back Moth, Plutella xylostella
(Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)
• Serious pest of cauliflower & cabbage, but also
feeds on many other cruciferous crops,
solanaceous and liliaceous crops.
• Damage is caused by the caterpillars
• Earlier stages feed in mines on the lower side of
cabbage leaves.
• When full grown, the larvae measure about 8-12
mm in length and are pale yellowish green with
fine black hair scattered all over the body.
• The moth measure about 8-12 mm in length and
are brown or grey with conspicuous white spots
on the forewings, which appears like diamond
patterns when the wings lie flat over the body.
 Life cycle:
• This insect is active throughout the year.
• Yellowish eggs of pin-heads size are laid singly or in batches of 2-
40 on the underside of leaves.
• A female may lay 18-356 eggs on her life time.
• The eggs hatch in 2.5-9 days .
• The newly hatched caterpillar bore into the tissue from the
underside of leaves and feed in these tunnels.
• At first, their presence is detected by only from the blackish excreta
that appear at the mouth of each tunnel, but in second instar, the
mines become more prominent.
• In the third instar, the caterpillar usually feed outside the tunnels.
• The larvae of the fourth instar feed from the undersides of leaves,
leaving intact a parchment like transparent cuticular laryer on the
dorsal surface.
 Continue life cycle
• The larvae are very sensitive to touch, wind or other
physical disturbances and readily feign death.
• They become fully grown in 16.6-8.6 days
• Before pupating, the larva constructs a barrel shaped silken
cocoon, which is open at both ends and is attached to the
leaf surface.
• The pupal stage lasts 4-5 days at 17-25 ºC
• The moths may live for as long as 20 days.
• The life cycle is completed in 15-18 days during September-
October and there are several generation in a year.
 Damage:
• Caterpillar damages the leaves of cauliflower,
cabbage and rape-seed particularly in the heart
of the first two.
• Central leaves of cabbage or cauliflower may
riddled and the vegetables rendered unfit for
human consumtion.
• The pest is serious when it appears on the early
crop in August-September.
•
 Management:
• Remove and destroy all the remnants, stubble, debris etc
after the harvest of the crop and plough the fields
• Tomato intercropped with cabbage inhibit or reduces egg
laying by diamond back moth
• Mustard can be used as trap crops. Two rows of mustard for
every 25 rows of cabbage.
• Release larval parsitiod, Cotesia plutellae @200 pupae per
ropani
• Spray commercial formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis @1-
2 g/liter of water
• Spray 0.05% solution of malathion 50%EC to manage