CROP PROTECTION MODULE 2

PEST MANAGEMENT
Pest; - Is any living organism which is injurious or potentially injurious to plant, animal and
man as well as their products. In this view weeds or volunteer maize in a tobacco crop are
also regarded as pests.

Economic Significance of Crop Pests-

· Damage to plants reduce yield and quality of crops
· Damage results in reduced quality of food
· Some pests can render the crop unfit for consumption by man and animals
· Reduced yields and quality affect food security
· Reduced yields results in increases in food prices
· Poor quality crop can result in death of the population due to toxicity and malnutrition
· Plant pest can destroy trees , shrubs etc which is detrimental to the environment
· Pests are costly to control, thus reduce viability of cropping
· Some pests are vectors of crop diseases whilst injuries predispose crops to secondary
infection

Benefits of Pests
· Natural enemies of some pests thus help with biological control
· Scavengers – through feeding on dead animals and plants help with decomposition
· Some helps with pollination of flowers thus increase crop yields
· Some produce useful products like honey
· Some are edible thus provide delicious food like crickets, termites etc

Of all the pests, Insects forms the biggest pest challenge to crop production. This is so mainly
because;-

· There are found in very large quantities (over one million insect species in the world)
· High reproductive capacity (produce many young ones in a short time)
· Highly adaptable to varied environmental conditions
· Can over winter when conditions are not favourable
· Can easily relocate to better environs through their ability to fly or being wind blown
· Small body size, thus need very little food and little shelter
· Resistant to dehydration, thus adapt easily in dry conditions
· Survive in temperature extremes; 5-50oC

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Categories of pests
· Key/ Major pests – occurs perennially and cause serious and persistent economic
damage in the absence of effective controls e.g. aphids, budworms in tobacco,
weevils, stalk borer in maize
· Minor pest – cause economic damage under certain circumstances. Under normal
conditions their populations don’t get to economic thresholds e.g grass hoppers
· Occasional pest – These occur at irregular intervals to cause heavy economic damage
e.g grasshoppers
· Potential Pest – these have potential to be major pests
· Migrant pests – these move from a locality to another. Their control usually involve
international cooperation e.g. locusts, armyworm.
· Disease Vectors – transmit diseases to plants e.g. Leaf hopper (Cicudulina spp) is a
vector of maize Streak Virus (MSV). Tobacco whitefly (Bemisia spp) is a vector of
Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV)

Classification of Pests

1. Classification according to damage caused or type of mouth part.

a. Biting and Chewing – this is done by adults and nymphs of grasshoppers, crickets
and locusts (Orthoptera), larvae and adults of beetles (coleoptera), larva of Moths -
Cutworm (Lepidoptera),etc. Bite marks is the key characteristic damage of the
insects. The biting and swallowing causes;-
- Loss of photosynthetic area (leaf lamina)
- Destruction of buds and shoots
- Destruction of flowers, fruits and seed
- Boring and tunnelling of stems, interrupting sap flow and physical weakening
of plant.
- Eating and boring roots and tubers
- Destruction of seed and seedlings
- Formation of galls
b. Piercing and Sucking – sap sucking from phloem or xylem vessels. When the stylet
of these pests penetrates the plant, saliva is pumped out through one canal and plant
juices are sucked out through the other canal. This is done by the Aphids, Cotton
stainer, Thrips, Stink bugs, Red spider mites, mealy bugs and scales. With this type of
damage there is;-
- Sap by aphids, mites, and bugs causing tissue wilt, leaf wilt, leaf curl, stunting
and in extreme cases death of host
- Rasping and sap sucking by thrips
- Leaf surface scarification, leaf curl or distortion by mites and thrips
- Intoxication of leaf sap by saliva from aphids, leaf hoppers, mealy bugs
causing death of cells
- Leaf tattering on buds, spotting, and or premature fruit fall.
- Necrotic areas become infected with bacteria and fungi and rot

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 - Some release saliva which is toxic and irritating to the plant causing dwarfing,
deforming or necrosis (this become more dangerous than sucking of juices)
- Excess plant juices which will be reach in sugars is secreted as honeydew
which is a medium for black sooty mould and affects photosynthetic area.
c. Spreading Diseases (Vectors)- these may be responsible for severe disease outbreak
and are divided into;-
- Indirect vectors - make feeding punctures which predispose plant to further
secondary infection e.g. fruit tunnelling by fruit fly larvae. Others carry fungal
spores on their bodies e.g coffee rust,
- Direct vectors - these are sometimes called biological vectors. These are
responsible for active transmission since they can act as intermediate hosts
(some developmental stages of pathogens can take place in these vectors) of
virus

2. Classification according to part of plant attacked

a. Seeds and seedlings
- Seedling stem cut through, severed shoot common with cutworm and cricket
damage
- ‘Dead heart’ common in cereals where maggots bore into stem eventually
killing the growing point. The leaf of a dead shoot dies and turns brown and be
easily pulled out. This is very common with stalk borer.
- Stem gnawed at ground level by beetles like dusty surface bettles
- Wilting of stems as a result of stems being eaten below the ground by adult
black maize beetle, cutworms
- Leaves or cotyledons pitted by adult flea beetle causing small feeding holes
- Earth tunnels on woody stems by termites
b. Fruits and seeds
- Grains may sometimes be small and distorted after having been fed upon by
sap sucking bugs
- Developing heads of cereals eaten at soft dough stage by caterpillars like false
codling moth in sorghum and stalk borer in maize
- Ripe maize cobs attacked by maize weevils, which will be carried into storage
- Fruits bored into causing pre-mature falling by boll worm in cotton and fruit
fly in citrus
- Fruit fly larvae developing inside fruits of pears, peaches, citrus, guava,
mangoes etc causing pre-mature fruit fall and secondary infection
c. Flowers and buds
- Petals gnawed by flower and blister beetles in cotton
- Buds bored into by boll worms
- Flowers inhabited by tiny maggots causing deformation of shoot young fruit
- Anthers eaten by pollen beetles destroying the pollen

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 d. Leaves
- Leaf margin notched and eaten by brood nosed weevils, grasshoppers,
caterpillars
- Leaves holed, windowed, skeletonised by diamond back moth caterpillars
- Can be pitted, galled, rolled, tattered
- Leaves mined by leaf-miners
e. Stems
- Boring of stem causing shoot death by boll worms, weevils , banana stem
weevil
- Galls formed on twigs
f. Roots and tubers
- Roots and tubers eaten by root weevils
- Tap root eaten or hollowed by cutworms
- Potato tubers are bored by wireworms, and tuber moth

3. Classification according to degree of development (Metamorphosis)

Metamorphosis is defined as a change in shape and form of an animal. An insect is

said to undergo metamorphosis when it changes from egg, larvae, pupa to adult life
stage. Field crop pest undergo simple metamorphosis or complete metamorphosis. It
is important to understand each growth stage for management purposes as each stage
has different feeding habits and habitats.

Gradual (Simple) Metamorphosis

This exhibit less degree of development

Egg: can be laid or hatch inside the adult

Nymphs: look like the adult but may not have wings and usually don’t fly like adults. They
periodically moult into adult and usually feed like the adult.

Adults: These have wings and look almost similar to the nymph.

Examples include – Orthoptera (Crickets, Grasshoppers, Cockroches), Isoptera (Termites),

Thysanoptera (Thrips), Hemiptera (Stinkbugs, Mealy bugs, Lygus, Stainers, Assasin bugs),
Homoptera (Leaf hoppers, Aphids, Psyllid, Scales, Whiteflies, Mealybugs)

Complete metamorphosis
Complete metamorphosis exhibit radical changes during their cycle

Egg:

Larvae: This is also called grub, maggot or caterpillar. They mostly feed and grow in grow
in different habitats from the adult. They also look different from adult. They moult into
pupal stage.
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Pupa – This is an inactive stage which goes into diapose when conditions are not favourable.

Adult – It is the reproductive stage, look different and may eat different food and leave in
different habitats from young ones which are key survival mechanisms as they don’t compete
with them.

Examples include - Neuropteran (Lacewings, antlions), Coleoptera (beetles), Diptera (flies),

Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths), Hymenoptera (wasps, ants and bees)

4. Classification according to Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the study of principles of scientific classification. An example of classification
of a common pest - American bollworm;-

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum (Group): Arthropoda

Class: Hexapoda - Insect – 3 pairs of legs, 3 body segments

Orders: Lepidoptera (butterflies and Moths)

Family: Noctuidae

Genus: Helicoverpa

Species: armigera

The main characteristics of the class Hexapoda (Insects) are, they have three body segments
(head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of legs and often one or two pairs of wings. Other
important classes in agriculture are:-

· Chilopoda – these are elongated, flattened bodied, many segments (15-20 segments),
lots of legs e.g centipeds
· Arachnida – four pairs of legs, two body segments e.g spiders, ticks
· Crustacea – 5-7 pairs of legs e.g crabs

Insect Orders
Though there are many insect orders, the following are of greater importance to agriculture.

Order Common Description

Examples
Orthoptera crickets Has straight wings, has jumpers and runners. Have enlarged
grasshoppers hind femur legs for jumping, have chewing mouth parts.
cockroaches Outbreaks usually emerge after wet weather.
Isoptera Termites Has equal wings, very destructive but can also be beneficial
by digesting cellulose (decomposition). Has social caste
system – kings, queen, workers

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Thysanoptera Thrips Mostly feed on plants but, some are predators (e.g six spotted
Sixspotted thrips). They are very small have sucking mouth parts. They
thrips love pollen and found in tight confined spaces hence difficult
to control. Eggs laid in leaf tissue, pupa stage in soil. Damage
indicated by silvery, rasped colour and usually damage is
seen when they are already gone. Transmit viruses like
tomato spotted wilt virus. Have wide host range.

Hemiptera: Stink-bugs, This group has different/ half wings (front wings are thick
Suborder – Mealy-bugs, and hind wings are membranous), triangular shaped at the
Heteroptera Lygus, back. They are true bugs. They have piercing and sucking
Cotton- mouth parts. Produce toxins which cause wilting, distortion
Stainer, and cat facing etc. A very diverse group with predators. All
Assassin-bug, overwinter as adults to cause early season damage.
Damsel-bug
Hemiptera: Leaf-hoppers, This group has uniform wings. Very diverse and important
Suborder - Aphids, group with sucking mouth parts. Damage crops by direct
Homoptera Psyllid, feeding on the underside of leaf, vectors of viruses,
Scales, contamination with excrement - sooty mold, honey dew,
Whiteflies, oviposition in plant tissues, feeding injury causes stunting.
Mealybugs
Neuroptera Lacewing, These have veins in their wings. They are generally predators
Antlions of aphids and hoppers, Spin a silken cocoon

Coleoptera Beetles, These have sheath wings (have heavily scalotized forewings).
chafer beetle, They have chewing mouths parts. It is the largest insect
CMRB, order. The beetle larvae have various forms: grubs,
Weevils, wireworms etc. Some are wood boring beetles
Ladybird
Beetle

Diptera Fruitflies, These have two wings, one pair of wings with the hind wings
Housefly, less developed. Larvae are maggots (no legs). They have
Tachnids, reduced mouth parts. Has some beneficials – syphids,
Syphids tachnids.

Lepidoptera Butterflies, They have scale wings on body. Scales can peel off if you
Moths handle a butterfly. It’s the second largest insect group.
Butterflies are mostly day fliers and wings are usually held
vertically over body when at rest while the moths are mostly
night fliers and wings lie horizontally over body when at rest.
Larvae are called caterpillars and these have chewing mouth
parts while adults have mouth parts modified into a long
suctorial proboscis. Eg false codling moth.

Hymenoptera Wasps, Bees, These have joining wings. Important as beneficials – bees,
Ants parasitoid wasp which oviposit in pest host (host-feeding).
Capenter ants don’t feed on wood but on insect.

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Common Pests

Aphids

Order: Hemiptera:

Suborder: Homoptera

Scientific Name
Several types of aphids have been identified in virtually all plants.

Aphis gossspii (Cotton aphid), Myzus persicae (Green Peach), Rhopalosiphum maidis (Maize
aphid), Aphis sacchari (Sugar cane aphid), Brevicoryne brassicae (Cabbage aphid),
Anuraphis persicaeniger (Black peach aphid), Scizaphis graminum (Wheat aphid) etc.

Life cycle
Has some winged males and some wingless females which increase its pathogenesis. Some
give live births (vivipary) and some lay eggs through parthenogenesis (without fertilisation)
these over winter to produce wingless females which quickly give rise to the next generation.

Mode of Action

Aphids are soft-bodied insects with piercing sucking mouthparts used to suck plant sap.
Heavily-infested leaves can wilt or turn yellow because of excessive sap removal. Saliva
injected into plants by these aphids may cause leaves to become severely distorted (curling,
wrinkling, cupping), even if only a few aphids are present. Also, aphid feeding on flower
buds and fruit can cause malformed flowers or fruit. Aphids secretes honeydew which is a
medium for saprophytic fungi which results in sooty mold which causes fruit splitting on
young fruit, reducing photosynthetic surface area, and its stickiness lowers cotton grades.
Some aphids are very important vectors of plant viruses like bushy top in tobacco.

Persistence
Their success is due in part to asexual reproduction (parthenogenesis) as well developing
wings when food reserves run low. They exude droplets which are quick hardening for self
defence. They also produce honey dew to attract ants which help to protect them from natural

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enemies as well as carry the aphids to better food areas. Also aphids have a cosmopolitan
distribution making highly them adaptable and faster resistance build up.

Biological control
Aphids have many predators which include ladybird beetle, aphid lion, lace wing etc

Chemical control
Promote predator population

Growing smelly plants like onions, targetis minuta

Use overhead irrigation to wash them away as well as creating unfavourable damp and wet

conditions

Imidacloprid, Dimethoate, Thiacloprid, Beta-cyfluthrin/ Imidacloprid (Thunder)

African Maize Stalk Borer

Scientific Name: Busseola fusca

Order: Lepidoptera

Mode of Action

The borer host on maize, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, and various thick-stemmed grasses such
as napier grass. First larvae feed in young terminal leaf whorls producing small holes and
window panes. Later tunnel into the growing point which may cause wilting and/or dying of
the upper leaves or cause ragged irregular holes in the newly unrolled leaves. The
characteristic "dead heart" is caused by the insect boring into the stalk at the soil level and

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tunnelling upward. It may also tunnel downwards into the whorl, creating the ragged holes. A
considerable amount of "frass", or sawdust-like borer faeces, can be seen in the whorl or
coming out of the borer's entry hole in the stalk. Plants damaged by stalk borers are often
stunted and/or misshapen and may die.

Persistence

Females usually mate on the night of emergence and will oviposit on the subsequent 3 to 4
nights. Females lay light yellow, spherical, and approximately 1 mm in diameter eggs in
batches of 100 to 200 at the base of stem or leaf sheaths. Each female can lay up to 1000 eggs
in a lifetime. The larvae emerge to feed then migrate to new sites. The adult moths can fly
and have an area of dispersal of up to 1.6 km or more. Usually two to three generations occur
during the growing season.

Control

Rotation with non host crops

Deep burial or burning crop residues

Spray: Lamda-cyhalothrin, Beta-cyfluthrin/Imidacloprid (Thunder), Carbaryl, Chlopyrifos

(Pyrinex), Cypermethrin, Beta-cyfluthrin (Bulldock)

Red Spider Mite

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Scientific Name: Tetranynchus urticae

Class: Arachnida

Subclass: Acari

Order: Tombidiformes

Family: Tetranychidae

Mode of Action
Spider mites feed by sucking sap from plant tissue especially on underside of leaf causing
silvery mottling. The leaves become dirty-grey on the upper surface while dull chlorotic on
undersurface. Spider mites spin protective fine strands of webbing on the host plant- hence
their name. Hot dry conditions mostly favour population build up. They have a very wide
host range which includes peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, cereals, strawberries brassicas
etc. They have fast multiplication as they can hatch in 3 days and reach sexual maturity in 5
days laying 20 eggs/ day living for 2 – 4 weeks. The accelerated rate of multiplication and the
cosmopolitan distribution makes them highly adaptable thus, faster resistance build up.

Control
Rogue and burn all infected and old plants

Avoid indiscriminate movement and handling plants

Dusty and hot season promote build up.

Easily washed by rains and overhead irrigation

Spiromesifen (Oberon), Abermectin (Dynamec), Dicofol, Tetradifon,

Bud Worm

Scientific Name: Heliothis virescens, H. armigera

Order: Lepidoptera

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Life cycle
Adult lays 300-500eggs in life, individual eggs on leaves, hatch 3-4days, larvae eat eggshell
as first meal, larvae has chewing mouths parts, feed on foliage and buds, dev through 5-7
instars over 17-18days, fall onto ground burrow into soil to pupate. Pupae stage lasts 13 days
in summer and longer in winter.

Mode of Action
Larvae bore into buds and blossoms (the basis for the common name of this insect), and
sometimes the tender terminal foliar growth, leaf petioles, and stalks. In the absence of
reproductive tissue, larvae feed readily on foliar tissue.

Tobacco budworm has a wide host range from tobacco, cotton, citrus, soya beans as well as
vegetables such as cabbage, tomato, lettuce, pea, pepper, pigeon pea, squash, and tomato. It is
also found attacking flower crops such as ageratum, bird of paradise, chrysanthemum,
gardenia, geranium, petunia, mallow, marigold, petunia, snapdragon etc.

Control
Use of Lambda-cyhaththrin (Karate), Lufenoron (Match), Flubendiamide (Belt)

Cotton Stainer

Scientific Name: Dysdercus suturellus

Order: Hemiptera

Mode of Action

Nymphs and adults feed on seeds in developing cotton bolls as well as puncture and suck
young bolls, injecting fungal spores called nemato spora in cotton bolls which causes
staining of cotton lint resulting in an indelible brownish yellow colour and also preventing
them from coming to maturity.

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It is occasionally a pest of oranges where it causes the orange to drop in a few hours from the
tree and to decay in one or two days. Some other hosts of Dysdercus suturellus include okra
pods, and ripe papaya.

Life Cycle

Eggs: look very much like microscopic hens' eggs. They are pale yellow and are laid singly
or in small, loose clusters in sand, debris, or decaying vegetable matter. They hatch in about
one week.

Nymphs: There are five nymphal stages or instars. The first usually is spent underground.
The duration of each of the first four stages typically averages four to five days during
midsummer, but the fifth stage commonly takes about twice as long. All five stages require
from 21 to 35 days to complete development. The nymphs are generally red. The fourth and
fifth instars have dark wing pads.

Adult: very colourful elongated wings, reddish orange with collar

Control
Lambda-cyhalothrin, Deltamethrim (Decis)

Cutworm

Scientific Name: Agrotis septum

Order: Lepidoptera

Mode of Action
The moths are brownish in colour and their forewings have small but distinct black markings.
The black cutworm is a cosmopolitan pest that poses an economic threat to many agricultural
plant species

Where soil moisture is adequate and plants are small, the larvae hide in the soil during the
day and move to the soil surface at night where they cut off plants just above the soil surface

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which is typical damage for most cutworm species. One larva will cut off an average of five
plants during its development. In situations of dry soil conditions, the larvae do not move to
the surface to feed, but instead, they chew into the plant just below the soil surface. This
causes plants to wilt and usually die. Loss of plants in infested fields will vary from 10 to 80
percent. Cutworm has three generation per year. It is a somewhat sporadic pest with few
individuals surviving the winter.

Control
Ensure early land preparation to deprive them of host in winter

Lambda-cyhalothrin, Deltamethrin (Decis), Chlopyrifos

DIAMOND BACK MOTH/ CABBAGE MOTH

Scientific Name: Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus)

Order: Lepidoptera

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Life Cycle

Total development time from the egg to pupal stage averages 25 to 30 days, depending on
weather, with a range of about 17 to 51 days. The number of generations varies from four in
cold climates to about eight

Egg: Diamondback moth eggs are oval and flattened, yellow or pale green in color, and are
deposited singly or in small groups of two to eight eggs in depressions on the surface of
foliage. Females may deposit 250 to 300 eggs but average total egg production is probably
150 eggs. Development time averages 5.6 days.

Larva: The diamondback moth has four instars. Throughout their development, larvae
remain quite small and active. If disturbed, they often wriggle violently, move backward, and
spin down from the plant on a strand of silk. The larval body form tapers at both ends and are
colourless in the first instar, but thereafter are green.

Pupa: Pupation occurs in a loose silk cocoon, usually formed on the lower or outer leaves.

Adult: The adult is a small, slender, greyish-brown moth with a broad cream or light brown
band along the back. The band is sometimes constricted to form one or more light-coloured
diamonds on the back, which is the basis for the common name of this insect. The moths are
weak fliers, usually flying within 2 m of the ground, and not flying long distances. However,
they are readily carried by the wind.

Damage

Diamondback moth attacks only plants in the family Cruciferae. Virtually all cruciferous
vegetable crops are eaten, including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, and
Cauliflower, with Cabbage being most preferred. Plant damage is initially done by first instar
larvae leaf mining but, the mines are difficult to notice. The larvae emerge from their mines
at the conclusion of the first instar, molt beneath the leaf, and thereafter feed on the lower
surface of the leaf. Their chewing results in irregular patches of damage, and the upper leaf
epidermis is often left intact. Although the larvae are very small, they can be quite numerous,
resulting in complete removal of foliar tissue except for the leaf veins. This is particularly
damaging to seedlings, and may disrupt head formation in cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower.

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Control
Flubendiamide, Lambda-cyhalothrin, Pymetrozine (Chess)

LEAF HOPPER

Scientific Name:Ciccudulina mbila, C. storei

Order: Hemiptera

Mode of Action

Leafhoppers have piercing-sucking mouthparts, enabling them to feed on plant sap. A

leafhoppers' diet commonly consists of sap from a wide and diverse range of plants such as
grass, shrubs, or trees but, some are more host-specific. Leafhoppers mainly are herbivores,
but some are known to eat smaller insects, such as aphids, on occasion. Leafhoppers can also
transmit plant pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria.

Adaptation

Leafhoppers Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and are covered with hairs that
facilitate the spreading of a secretion over their bodies that acts as a water repellent and
carrier of pheromones. Some species have a cosmopolitan distribution, or occur throughout
the temperate and tropical regions.

Control

Cultural: timing of planting dates –avoid very early and very plantings, Weed a 10m belt
round the field

Chemical; Lambda-cyhalothrin, Flubendiamide

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FRUIT FLIES

Scientific Name: Ceratitis capitata

Order: Diptera

Mode of Action

The Mediterranean fruit fly is one of the world's most destructive fruit pests. The species
originated in sub-Saharan Africa can be a problem all year round, but are especially common
during late summer because they are attracted to sweet, ripened or fermenting fruits. The
larvae feed upon the pulp of host fruits by tunnelling, sucking fruit juicy through it and
eventually reducing the whole fruit to an inedible mass, fruit drop and decay. Although it
may be a major pest of citrus, often it is a more serious pest of some deciduous fruits, such as
peach, pear, mangoes and apple. Tomatoes, melons, squash, grapes and other perishable
items brought in from the garden are often the source of an infestation in fruits trees.

Persistence

It has wide distribution over the world and its larvae feed and develop on many deciduous,
subtropical, and tropical fruits and some vegetables.

Control

Cultural: pick and bury all infected fruits

Chemical: Malathion 25WP mixed with sugar, leybacid

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THRIPS: WESTERN FLOWER THRIPS, CITRUS THRIPS

Scientific Name: Frankliniella occidentalis (Western flower thrips) Scirtothripsaurantii

(citrus thrips)

Order: Thysanoptera

Mode of Action
Thrips feed by puncturing the epidermal (outer) layer of host tissue and sucking out the cell
contents, which results in stippling(scrape), discoloured flecking, or silvering of the leaf
surface. Thrips feeding is usually accompanied by black varnish like flecks of frass
(excrement) scarring, discolored spots, which are silver-white at first, and later turn dark and
in some cases, transmission of plant pathogens. Damage is observed more often on leaves
and fruits however, they can also be found on tender shoots, buds, and flowers. In citrus it
only causes cosmetic injury on the fruit as the stippling or silvery flecks are only on the fruit
surface. Eggs are laid under base of stem sheaths, larvae and adults can hide un closed buds
and bracts before feeding and migrating to new sites.
Control
Abamectin (Dynamec), Fipronil (Regent), Imidachloprid, Thiocloprid (Calypso)

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WHITEFLIES

Scientific Name: Bemisia tabaci

Order: Hemiptera

Suborder: Homoptera

Mode of Action
Whiteflies are sap suckers that reduce the overall vigor of plants with their feeding causing

plants to yellow and lose their leaves prematurely. Produce large amounts of sticky, sugary

honeydew, which in turn is colonized by black sooty mold which reducing the attractiveness

and marketability of produce. Whiteflies are vectors that transmit over a hundred different

plant viruses like leaf curl virus.

Persistance
Females lay eggs directly on the undersides of plant leaves. The eggs hatch into tiny

“crawlers” that walk a short distance before settling at a feeding location. These nymphs

lose their ability to walk, and remain in the same location for the rest of their development

until they pupate and emerge as winged adults . The entire whitefly life cycle takes about 3

weeks under favourable conditions, allowing populations to build quickly.

Control
Marigolds help to repel whiteflies

Imidacloprid, Lufenuron (Match), Spiromesifen (Oberon)

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BAGRADA BUD

Scientific Name: Bagrada hilaris

Order: Hemiptera:

Suborder: Heteroptera

Host/ Mode
Adults and nymphs of the Bagrada bug feed on leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds. They insert
their needle-like mouthparts into plant tissues, inject digestive enzymes, and suck the juices.
On leaves and stems, starburst-shaped lesions form. Leaves eventually have large stippled
areas and may wilt and die. Sometimes damage may result in “scorched” leaves, stunting,
blind terminals, and forked or multiple heads on cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage. Bagrada
bugs are particularly damaging to seedlings and especially severe in warm weather. Host
range has various vegetable crops and several ornamental plants within the brassicaceae.

Life Cycle
Eggs are laid singly or in small clusters on underside of leaves, stems, or on soil underneath
plants. The eggs are oval or barrel-shaped usually white when freshly deposited and turn
orange over time.
Wingless nymphs: Within 8 days the first-instar nymph emerges. It is bright orange-red and
turns darker as it develops, becoming black by the last instar.

Adult bug is 5 to 7 millimetres in length, shield-shaped, and black with white and orange
markings. The female, which is larger than the male, lays up to 100.

Adaptation

All life stages may be present together on plants, especially when pest densities increase,
generations overlap and food sources decrease. Even though Bagrada bugs prefer cool-season
crops, their development is favored by warmer temperatures.

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Control
Frequent watering to maintain dump conditions

Regular cultivation helps to expose eggs

Destroy crop debris to reduce overwintering

Chemical: Carbaryl

FALSE CODLING MOTH/ ORANGE MOTH, CITRUS CODLING MOTH OR

ORANGE CODLING MOTH

Scientific Name: Thaumatotibia (Cryptophlebia) leucotreta,

Order: Lepidoptera

Host/ Mode
Eggs are oviposited on the surface of the host fruit over irregular intervals throughout the
female's life. Once hatched the larvae burrow a 1 mm diameter hole into the host fruit. A
discoloration appears at the wounded site. Once the larvae are inside the pulp they begin to
feed. Young larvae feed on the outer portion and move further into the interior of the fruit as
they mature. This usually results in fruit drop and decay. Only a few larvae may survive per
fruit. The Larvae of the moth feed on a wide range of crops from cotton, macadamia nuts to
Citrus species. The larvae have a less selective diet than the codling moth, which feeds
primarily on temperate fruit crops.

Life Cycle
Eggs: Under ideal conditions (25 °C) a single moth can produce up to 800 eggs hatching 2 to
22 days.

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Larva: This stage lasts from 12 to 67 days. Upon maturity the larvae exit the fruit and drop to
the ground on silken threads. By the time of emergence from the fruit the larva have grown to
roughly 15 mm and have developed an orange and pink colour.

Pupa: In the pupal stage the false codling moth larvae spin a cream coloured cocoon in the
soil. Male moths require between 13 and 47 days to reach maturity and females need between
11 and 39 days.

Adult: The final adult stage of the moth occurs when the winged insect emerges from its
cocoon. The moths are inactive during the day and are only active during portions of the
night. Adults have patterned 1.25 to 2 cm wings with a variation of colours: grey, brown,
black, and orange brown.

Control
Pick bury or burn dropped fruit

Chemical: Malathion 25WP mixed with sugar, leybacid, Teflubenzuron (Nomolt),

Triflumuron (Alsystin)

BLACK MAIZE BEETLE/ SUGARCANE BEETLE

Scientific Name: Heteronychus arator

Order: Coleoptera

Host/ Mode

The beetle is primarily a problem in maize, sugarcane and rice, though it also infests cotton,
strawberry, rose, and wild grasses. Black beetle damage is characterised by rough, rasped
plant tissue damage in the bottom 3 cm of the stem. Visible black damage may not peak until
the maize is in the 3rd or 4th leaf stage. The grubs feed on the roots of grasses, while the
adult beetles are responsible for damage to field crops. Seedlings suffer the most damage and
are often killed, stunted or multiple tillers can also occur when the beetles destroy the
growing point. Maize plants one meter or taller usually recover from sugarcane beetle injury.

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Life Cycle

Eggs are pearly white in colour, oval swelling to an almost spherical shape before hatching
and around 2 mm long. They are laid singly, near the soil and take up to take six weeks to
hatch depending on the soil temperature.

Larvae are around 2.5 cm when fully grown. The head is light brown and the body greyish or
creamy white except for the hind end that appears black due to the gut contents showing
through. Larvae develop through three stages. The second and third stage larvae have light
brown head capsules and orange spots along the sides of the thorax and abdomen. Like white
grub, the larvae are found curled up in the soil.

Black beetle larvae

Pupae when first formed are pale yellow but turn reddish brown before adult emergence.
They are found in earthen cells and are around 15 mm long.

Adult beetles: overwinter in free draining soils.

Adaptation

Black beetles do not occur every season but when they do, they are a very damaging pest in
seedling maize causing economic losses. High levels of paspalum or kikuyu in pasture ensure
higher survival rates of the adults over the winter which later results in greater larval
populations.

Control
Carbosulfan (Marshal), Chlopyrifos (Dursban)

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Termites

Scientific Name: Coptotermes formosanus (Formosan subterranean)

Order: Isoptera

Host/ Mode

Coptotermes species are widely distributed and are most easily recognised by the milky
substance that the soldiers produce when disturbed. All Coptotermes species form large
colonies which are likely to contain millions of individuals. Colonies may be found in nests
under the ground, in tree stumps, in hollow trees, in living trees or in conical mounds above
the ground. All Coptotermes species are wood feeders and some are known to cause severe
damage to living trees.

Termites feed exclusively on cellulose, usually of dead or dying wood, bark, leaves, grasses,
fungi, humus or the droppings of herbivores, but occasionally of live wood. While some
termites can produce their own cellulase enzymes, most termites have specialized symbiotic
bacteria and/or protozoa in their guts to aid in cellulose digestion. Some species forage on the
surface at night collecting grasses which they take back to be stored in the nest. Others more
commonly avoid all light and build protective tunnels to travel between the nest and their
food source.

Control

Fipronil (Regent), Imidacloprid

RED SCALE

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Scientific Name: Aonidiella aurantii

Order: Hemiptera,

Suborder: Homoptera

Host/ Mode
Scale insects of all ages feed by sucking. They are found on all parts of the plant but are most
noticeable on the fruit. Heavy infestations may cause discoloration, shoot distortion and leaf
drop. The fruit may become pitted and unmarketable. The saliva they inject is very toxic to
the leaves, twigs, branches and fruit of citrus trees. The tree's bark may split and the twigs
and branches may die back and this sometimes results in the death of the tree.

Life Cycle

The female is viviparous with the eggs hatching internally. She produces 100 to 150 young
altogether and live nymphs or crawlers emerge from under their mother's cover at the rate of
two to three per day. When they first hatch the nymphs are a yellowish colour and search for
a suitable place to settle in depressions on twigs, leaves or fruit and start feeding; soon after, a
circular, waxy cover forms over their body for protection. Crawlers can be spread about by
wind, birds, or humans.

Adaptation

Chemical control is difficult because the insects are protected by their hard waxy covers.
They are also becoming resistant to many insecticides and indiscriminate use of pesticides
has adverse effects on their natural predators. Some ant species can increase infestations of
red scale indirectly by patrolling the branches in search of honeydew from soft scales,
cottony cushion scale, mealy bugs and aphids, these ants deter predators and parasitoids and
thus enable red scale to flourish unmolested. The only mobile stage of red scale is the first
instar crawler. When the scales are molting or reproducing; they remain under this cover
throughout their life. Adult male scales are small, two-winged insects that emerge from the
elongated scale covers after four molts.

Control
Mineral Oil (Orchex Mineral Oil), Pyriproxyfen (Admiral)

PEST CONTROL
The main object is to manage or control pests to levels below injury or economic thresholds
not total destruction/ complete eradication.

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Economic Threshold is the population density at which control measures should come in to
prevent economic damage. With additional damage to the crop by pest there are increased
economic losses which the crop can no longer compensate for even if it is to recover.

1. Cultural Methods
This involves the use of knowledge of ecology and biology of pests in agronomic
practises to the disadvantage of pests.

i. Crop Rotations- since most pests are crop specific, by introducing a different
crop the life cycle of the pest is disrupted e.g. rotation of tobacco with
katambora helps reduce nematodes population.
ii. Clean Cultivation- Most weeds harbour pests and some act as alternative hosts
of pests e.g. weeds in between crops can support cutworms.
Cultivation can expose the pest to unfavourable conditions like deep burial or
exposure to direct sun light (desiccation) or pest can be exposed to predators
like birds
iii. Timing of Sowing or reaping – this can be timed that the crop’s most
vulnerable growth stage does not coincide with the peak pest challenge e.g.
late crops in tobacco have high aphid challenges, very early maize crops are in
danger of the maize stalk borer and snout beetle. The idea is to try and avoid
peak pest challenges (AVOIDANCE).
iv. Irrigation Management- adequate watering ensures vigorous crop growth, and
in some cases over irrigation can reduce some soil inhabiting pests like eggs of
potato tuber moth while nematodes tend to raise with the water.
v. Flooding creates anaerobic conditions which will kill pests, but has little
practical value where water is a problem or expensive
vi. Fallow- leave the field fallow (free from any crop and weeds) will starve the
pests of alternative hosts
vii. Catch crops - use of crops to control pests e.g. Tagetes spp are capable of
promoting nematode infections, but these will later die.
viii. Overall crop vigour- crop with vigour can out compete pest challenges,
therefore, good crop nutrition, weed, moisture management etc. is the key to
pest management.
ix. Destruction of crop residues- crop residues harbour pest helps to disrupt pest
life cycles e.g. maize stalk borer overwinters in maize stalk residues. In cotton
and tobacco there is legislative stalk destruction dates to help control spiny
boll worm and aphids respectively.
x. Sanitation- overall cleanliness and removal of crop remnants (residues) can
reduce pest build up e.g fallen fruit in orchards is removed to control fruit fly
which can easily complete their life cycle on fallen fruit.

2. Biological Methods
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 This is use of natural enemies or crop’ own defence mechanism to control pest
species;-
i. Allowing increase in predator populations helps to combat pest challenges e.g
ladybirds, larvae of hoverfly, lacewing, assassin bugs (most of these are host
specific) spiders are also predatory on insects though not host specific.
ii. Breeding predators to suppress pest populations, e.g. Lacewing, lady bird
beetles can be bred to control aphids in cotton.
iii. Crop breeding -this includes crop breeding programmes intended to reduce
pest damage e.g. hairy cotton varieties in cotton varieties were developed to
control jassids, breeding of pest resistant crops as in RK varieties in tobacco.
iv. Deliberate minimisation of pesticides with harmful effects to the predators (to
increase predator population)
v. Use of insect pathogens like Bacillus thurungiensis (BT Gene in cotton) is
effective against red boll worms. The bacteria produce toxins which kill the
boll worm. Nucleopolyhedrosis virus (NPHV) to control semi loopers in soya
bean
vi. Sterilisation techniques in which large number of males are reared and
sterilised and released to compete with normal males.
vii. Use of pheromone hormones can be used to attract insects into a trap where
they are then killed or to disorient males from females thus disrupt mating
processes.

3. Physical Methods
Involve use of physical means to control pests like erecting of physical barriers to
protect crops against pests e.g. green houses, shed clothe netting, use of sticky barriers
put on fruit tree trunks to prevent ants which promotes scales as well as use of heat
like solarisation or steam treatment. Hand picking can also be used.

4. Legislative practices (Phyto-sanitary Regulations)

This involves strict controls and close monitoring through the use of government
regulations to reduce or minimise spread and multiplication of pests and diseases.

· Quarantine – inspection of importation plant material and agricultural produce

to and isolation where necessary to ensure pests are not imported into the
country.
· Importation rules – Requirements for phyto-sanitary certificates before
importation of agricultural produce.
· Enforcement of laws govern use and management of chemicals
· Crop Destruction Dates – Enforcement of legislation on planting dates, stalk
destruction dates etc

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 Cotton
Planting Date Slashing Date Destruction Date
S.E Low veld 05 Oct 1 Aug 15 Aug
Other Parts of 20 Oct 15 Aug 20 Aug
Zim

Tobacco and Paprika

Legislation on sowing and destruction dates is meant to restrict incidence of and
spread of insect borne viruses of tobacco like Bushy top and Leaf curl virus. Storage
legislation is meant to prevent the establishment and spread of tobacco (or cigarette)
beetle and tobacco moth. Tobacco handling and storage areas should be cleared of
tobacco, tobacco scrap and waste and to the satisfaction of Government Pest
Inspector. Cured tobacco must never be stored in same room as other crops. Any
suspected presence of Tobacco moth must be reported to DR&SS.

Seed Beds Lands Storage

Sowing Destruction Planting Destruction
01 June 31 Dec 1 Sept 15 Sept 31 Oct

5. Chemical Methods
This is the use of chemicals to kill or control pests.

Action Thresholds
This is to determine if pest population warrant need for control (Costs/ Benefits).
Economic Threshold is the population density at which control measures should
come in to prevent economic damage. With additional damage to the crop by pest
there are increased economic losses which the crop can no longer compensate for
even if it is to recover. The main object is to manage or control pests to levels below
injury or economic thresholds not total destruction/ complete eradication.

6. Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

This combines the use of Chemical, Mechanical, Cultural and Biological control
measures. The strategy is to balance the pest control measures with increase in natural
predators of the pests as well as beneficial insects with minimal crop loss and
environmental damage so as to ultimately reduce pesticide use in crop.

Components of IPM Programme

· Pest/ Problem prevention
· Scouting/ monitoring

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 · Action Thresholds
· Control

Pest Prevention
· Production planning so as to aid with selection of resistant cultivars, rotations,
management of drafts, drainage, movements etc
· Sanitation – it’s important to start clean, rotations, rouging, weeds, clean planting
material etc
· Exclusion –avoid entry of pests into the crop by weeding, addressing the source, wind
barriers and screening
· Environmental and cultural management – this involves reducing vulnerability of
crops to pest damage.

Scouting/ Monitoring

This forms the basis or cornerstone of IPM programme

· Should be reliable and efficient
· Should be formalised
· Regular
· Specific area for scouting for consistence
· Thorough knowledge of the crop and likely pests and their cycles
· Keep records
· Train staff

Purpose of Monitoring
· Accurate and immediate decisions on what to spray for, what to spray, when to spray
and when not to spray
· Tracking seasonal pest trends
· Compare data from season to season

Monitoring involves four key strategies

· Visual scouting of the actual pests - the scouting personnel should be familiar with all
pest growth stages, feeding habits and habitats
· Scouting of infected or damaged sites e.g infected fruit with false codling moth
· Trapping of the actual pests using stick cards or traps for pests like fruit flies, thrips
etc
· Determining presents of natural enemies

Tools
· Sharp knive

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 · Hand lens/ magnifying glass for better identification of minute pests like thrips,
Spider mites etc
· Scouting pad/ form to record the pests
· Reference/ Scouting booklet
· Gloves
· Sticky cards /Traps

IPM programme should ensure;-

· Avoid pesticides which cause harm to the environment and other beneficial
pests.
· Avoid purple triangle pesticides.
· Avoid continuous use of the same pesticide and pesticide in same chemical
group.
· Avoid too high concentrations of spray mixtures (stick to recommendations).
· Avoid using chemicals when natural enemy (predators) activity is high.
· Minimal use of chemicals.

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