It is important that Chilli Pest be recognized early in their development so that effective management strategies can be implemented.
Upward curling of leaves Scarred fruits
Downward curling of leaves with narrow & rusty appearance
Scarred fruits
Tobacco caterpillar and tomato fruit borer are serious pests in chilli
Root knot Infected root of chilli
Thrips
Symptoms : Upward curling of leaves Scarred fruits
Appearance of discolored or disfigured plant parts suggests the presence of thrips. A severe infestation of chilli thrips makes the tender leaves and buds brittle, resulting in complete defoliation and total crop loss.
Warm and dry weather are Favourable conditions
Management
Mix fipronil 1 ml/L + 2 ml/L neem oil and 1ml/L sticker, make an emulsion (add a little water and shake thoroughly in a bottle spray for thrips management at fortnightly interval. Never repeat the same chemical again and again.
Control weeds
Rotate crops
Natural predators and parasites
Rotate insecticides (Fipronil@0.1% or Imidachloprid@ 0.05%)
Sticky traps (yellow/blue)
Mites
Symptoms : Nymphs and adults suck the cell sap from young foliage and growing shoots
Downwardcurling of leaves with narrow & rusty appearance Scarred fruits
Warm and dry weather are Favourable conditions
Control : For mites spray Neem soap 1 % or neem oil 1% mixed with synthetic acaricide like dicofol 18.5 EC (2.5 ml/l), wettable sulphur 80 WP (3 g/l) etc. Spray lower surface of the leaves where mites are generally found. Avoid using wettable sulphur if the temperature is high. Application of Pongamia oil @ 2ml/L (emulsified with sticker @ 1 ml/L) may also be employed
Spray of propargite 57 EC @ 2ml/L for mite management
Control weeds
Rotate crops
Miticides(abamectinand dicofol) or wettablesulphur
Borer
Symptoms: Tobacco caterpillar and tomato fruit borer are also serious pests in chilli and capsicum. These affect the marketable value of the chilli crop to a great extent, if proper care is not taken.
Control: Spray specific NPV of the borer species
Collect and destroy egg masses and immature larvae of tobacco caterpillar.
Employ poison baiting. Mix 10 Kg rice bran and 1kg jaggery (fermenting) in the morning. In the evening add 250 g of Thiodicarb 75 WP, mix carefully and sprinkle over ridges. Caterpillars get attracted to the fermenting jaggery, eat the mixture and get killed
Repeat the baiting 2-3 times, if necessary
Nematodes in Chilli
Root knot Infected root of chilli
Nursery seedlings of vegetables in India are infested by various types of nematodes. These nematodes attack the root system of chilli seedlings in nursery beds. Galling of the roots, stunted growth of roots as well as seedlings are the manifestations of nematode damage in the nursery beds. Root knot nematodes such as Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica attack seedlings of chilli in nursery beds. Use of nematode infected seedlings of transplanted vegetables produces inferior quality vegetables as the nematodes carried along with the seedlings multiply rapidly in the main field conditions. Nematodes feed on root-system and damage the root-system thoroughly. Nematodes make the plant weak and also vulnerable for the infection by secondary pathogens (soil borne pathogenic fungi and bacteria). Nematode damages also results into the breakdown of the resistance against pathogenic fungi and bacteria. Nematodes along with these pathogens can cause loss to the tune of 40 – 70%.
Seed treatment
Pre-coat seeds with biopesticide before sowing.
• Add biopesticide Pseudomonas fluorescens at 20 ml/kg or 20 g/kg seed.
Preparation for raising seedlings.
• For substrate (propagating mixture) used in portrays/polybags mix biopesticide Pseudomonas fluorescens at 2 g/kg of substrate (cocopeat/ potting mixture) and fill in portrays/polybags.
• For nursery beds drench with 3 lit of Pseudomonas fluorescens suspension / m2 (add 5ml or 5g of formulation / lit of water) before sowing seeds
Preparation of main field before planting/ transplanting
• Enrichment of FYM with bio-pesticides: Mix two kg each of Paecilomyces lilacinus, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Trichoderma harzianum / T. viride in one ton of FYM and leave it in shade for 15 days at 25 – 30% moisture for multiplication of beneficial microbes.
• Soil has to be incorporated with 20 – 30 tons of FYM enriched with bio-pesticides before planting/ transplanting seedlings.
• Enrich neem cake with bio-pesticides: Mix two kg of each of Paecilomyces lilacinus, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Trichoderma harzianum / T. viride in one ton of neem cake and leave it in shade for 15 days at 25 – 30% moisture for multiplication of beneficial microbes.
• Apply neem cake enriched with biopesticides in standing crop at 50 g/ m2 once in a month.
• Mix 20 kg of enriched neem cake mixture in 200 lit water, leave it for two days and this can be used for drenching beds @ 2 lit/ m2 or filter it thoroughly and use it for spraying the foliage or sending along the drip, once in a month.
• Spray Arka Plant Growth Promoter and Yield Enhancer (Pseudomonas fluorescens + Trichoderma harzianum) at 5 ml or 5g/lit, once in a month.
Or send along the drip, Arka Plant Growth Promoter and Yield Enhancer (Pseudomonas fluorescens + Trichoderma harzianum) at 5 ml or 5g/lit, once in a month
