cotton crop needs highest pesticide application for pest management, So we came with ipm practices for reducing insecticide spray, to manage the resistance development and secondary outbreak of sucking pest

1. Ravi Biradar
ID No 48106
MSc ( Entomology )

2. Economic importance of Cotton
cotton is an important cash crop in more than 80 countries
the major producers in the world are:
• China—32.0%
• India—21.8%
 It is chiefly grown for its fiber which is used for manufacturing of
clothes for mankind.
 Cotton lint: It is the most important vegetable fiber and is woven into
fabrics either alone or combined with other fibers.
 Fuzz: It is used in production of mattresses, surgical cotton,
photographic film and paper.
 Cotton seed: Depending on varieties, it contains 20-25% semi-drying
edible oil (iodine no. 102) which is used for cooking. American cotton
contains high oil.
 Cotton seed cake: Seed cakes contain 40% protein and serves as a
important concentrated feed for livestock. Not only that, cake is the
good organic matter contains 5% N, 3% P2O5 and 2% K2O.
 Cotton stem: The stem can be used as organic manure or fuel.

3. Cotton insect pests
Sucking pests Bollworms
 Whitefly
(Bemisia tabaci )
 Jassid
(Amrasca bigutella bigutella )
 Thrips
(Thrips tabaci)
 Aphids
(Aphis gossypi)
 Tailed mealy bug
( Ferrisia virgata)
 American bollworm –
(Helicoverpa armigera )
 Pink bollworm
( Pectinophora gossypiella )
 Spotted bollworm
( Earias vittella )
 Spinny Bollworm
(Earias insulana)

4. Cotton defoliator stainer
 Shoot weevil
(Alcidodea affaber)
 Stem Weevil
(Pemphras stimis)
 Spodopetra leaf worm
( spodoptera litura )
 Leaf roller
( Sylepta derogata )
 Ash weevil:
(Mylloceru subfasciatus
M. discolor )
 Red cotton bug
( Dysdercus cingulatus )
 Dusky cotton bug
( Oxycarenus hyalinipennis )

5. The boll weevil infestation has been credited with bringing about economic
diversification in the southern US, including the expansion of peanut cropping.
The citizens of Enterprise, Alabama erected the Boll Weevil Monument in 1919,
perceiving that their economy had been overly dependent on cotton, and that
mixed farming and manufacturing were better alternatives.

6. PESTS MONITORING
Agro Eco system Analysis ( AESA )
AESA is an approach, which can be gainfully employed by extension functionaries
and farmers to analyze field situations with regard to pests, defenders, soil
conditions, plant health, the influence of climatic factors and their
interrelationship for growing healthy crop. Such a critical analysis of the field
situations will help in taking appropriate decision on management practices.
The basic components of AESA are:-
1. Plant health at different stages.
2. Built – in – compensation abilities of the plants.
3. Pest and defender population dynamics.
4. Soil conditions.
5. Climatic factors
Survey / Field Scouting
The objective of surveys through roving surveys is to monitor the initial
development of pests and diseases in endemic areas.
The plant protection measures are required to be taken only when pests and
disease cross ETL as per result of field scouting.

7. Pest Monitoring through Pheromones / Yellow Pan /
Sticky Traps etc.
Pheromone trap – monitoring :- Use pheromone traps for
monitoring of American bollworm, spotted bollworms, pink
bollworm and Spodoptera.
Install pheromone traps at a distance of 50 m @ five traps per ha. for each insect
pest. Use specific lures for each insect pest species and change it after every 15 – 20
days. Trapped moths should be removed daily.
( ETL for pink bollworm is 8 months per days per trap consecutively for 3 days.
ETL for American bollworm is 4 – 5 moth per day per trap.)
Yellow pan / sticky traps :- Set up yellow pan / sticky traps for
monitoring whitefly
@ 25 yellow pans / sticky traps per ha. Locally available empty yellow palmoline
tins coated with grease / vasline / castor oil on outer surface may also be used.
Economic Threshold Levels ( ETLs )
Based upon the result of survey / field scouting etc., the extension functionaries
are to determine the ETLs for different pests to advice farmers to initiate pest
management practices accordingly.

8. Insect pest ETL
American & Spotted bollworm 5 % damaged fruiting bodies or 1 larva per plant
or
total 3 damaged square / plant taken from 20
plants
selected at random for counting.
Pink bollworm 8 moths / trap per day for 3 consecutive days or 10
% infested flowers or bolls with live larvae.
Spodoptera 1 egg mass or skelotinized leaf / 10 plant
Jassids * 2 jassids or nymphs per leaf or appearance of
second grade jassid injury. (yellowing in the
margins
of the leaves )
Whitefly *
Aphids
Thrips *
5 – 10 nymphs or adults per leaf before 9 AM.
10 % affected plants counted randomly.
5 – 10 thrips / leaf
* 3 leaves (top, middle, bottom) per plants from 10 plants

9. Jassids
Affected leaves curl downwards, turn yellowish, then to brownish before drying and
shedding, “hopper burn” stunts young plants
Aphids
Leaf crumpling and downward curling of leaves, sticky cotton due to deposits of
honey dew on open bolls.
Thrips
Leaves of seedlings become wrinkled and distorted with white shiny patches, older
crop presents rusty appearance from a distance.
Whiteflies
Upward curling of leaves, reduced plant vigour, lint contamination with honey dew
and associated fungi, transmission of leaf curl virus disease.
Sucking pests

10. aphids whitefly
jassids
Mealy bugs

11. Spotted & spiny bollworms
Bore mark in main shoot, dried and withered away shoot, twining of main stem due
to auxillary monopodia, feeding holes in flower buds and bolls blocked by
excrement.
American bollworm
Small amount of webbing on small squares injured by young larvae, squares have a
round hole near the base, larval frass and flaring of bracts on larger squares,
clean feeding of internal contents of bolls, excessive shedding of buds and bolls.
Pink bollworm
“Rosetted” bloom pink larvae inside developing bolls with interloculi movement.
Double -seed cotton.
Boll worms

12. E. insulanaE. vitella

13. American bollworm
Pink bollworm

14. Red cotton bug
Feed on developing and mature seeds, stain the lint to typical yellow colour, reddish
nymphs seen in aggregations around developing and open
bolls.
Dusky cotton bug
Associated with ripe seeds, all stages characterized by a powerful smell, discolour
the lint if crushed.
Stainers

15. Red cotton bugs
Dusky cotton bug

16. Semi-looper
Causes significant loss of leaf area to young plants, larvae with looping action are
seen on plant parts.
Leaf roller
Leaves are folded and larvae are seen in groups amidst fecal materials, commonly
seen on leaves at the bottom of crop canopy at low infestation levels, severe
infestation defoliates the whole plant.
Spodoptera leaf worm
Young larvae in groups skeletonise leaves and older larvae voraciously defoliate
leaves.
Grey weevil & Stem weevil
Marginal notching- off of leaves. & Root damage by grubs kills young seedlings, gall
like swelling seen on lower stem, wilting of seedlings.
Defoliator

17. spodoptera
Leaf roller
Stem weevil

18. •Naturally occurring native predators ex; Chilomenes sexmaculatus and
Chrysoperla carnea offer significant control of the early season sucking pests.
• A predatory prey ratio of 1.5 in respect of jassids and 0.1 for aphids was found
optimal for natural control in presence of coccinellids and chrysopids.
•As the use of broad spectrum insecticides like organophosphorus components for
sucking pest control eliminates these natural enemies, strategy of using sucking
pest tolerant genotypes in conjuction with natural enemy exploitation is advocated.
Hymenopterous and tachinid parasitoids [Compoletis chlorideae & Microchelonus
spp ] are common on H.armigera larvae with parasitisation ranging from 9-12% .
•Rogas aligarhensis parasitisation on E.vittella larvae varies between 4 and 18%.
•Pink bollworm control by Apanteles angalati And Bracon greeni Is 2 and 8%
respectively.
•Natural mortality of A.flava and H.armigera due to Nomuraea rileyi could be up to
8% during cooler months and years of epizootics.
•Spiders and birds also execute a fair amount of natural control of cotton insect
pests, however their potential remains unestimated thus far.
natural Control

19. Conservation of natural enemies
 Border crop with jowar, maize in 2 or 3 rows not only serves as a barrier for
migration of insect pests but also pollen of maize helps in attraction of
beneficial Chrysoperla to the field.
 Install ‘T’ shaped or long dried twigs as bird perches to attract predatory birds
@ 20 / ac.
 rationalized use of pesticide.
 organic matter application , suppressing ants activity .

20. •16 % of global chemical pesticide use, more than any other single crop
•World’s cotton farmers apply US$ 1,310 million of insecticides to cotton each year.
INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT IN COTTON
Number of sucking pests like aphids, leahoppers, thrips and whiteflies infest
cotton during early vegetative growth. Of these leafhoppers and whiteflies occur more
regularly and predominently. Hence strategies for managing sucking pests have direct
impact on success of IPM strategies for boll worms which emphasize survival and build
up of natural enemies in cotton ecosystem.

21. Deep ploughing exposes and eliminates hibernating insects and expose pupae to
sun and predating birds.
 Growing cotton after cotton should be avoided. Adopt proper crop rotation.
Growing toterant / resistant varieties or hybrids against leafhoppers and white
flies.
 Leafhoppers: Many varieties like MCU – 5, LRA 5166, L 604, L 603,
Narasimha (NA1325) & hybrids like NHH 44, Saritha, H8, jk Hy – 1, LAHH –1o
Whiteflies: glabrous varieties like Kanchana (LPS 141), LK 861, L615, NA
1280, Supriya.
Abhadhita (tolerant to bollworms) have reduced loss in yield due to insect
pests through mechanisms of host plant resistance.
Use Bt cotton varieties against Helicoverpa armigera

22. Soak the seed in concentrated sulphuric acid (100 ml/kg seed) for 2 – 3 minutes,
wash with water 2 – 3 times followed by washing with lime supernatant, shade dry
and treat with carbosulfan 40 g or imidacloprid 5 g along with little gum to protect
against early season sucking pests.
Adopt proper spacing, irrigation and fertilizer management.
Avoid application of highnitrogenous fertilizers to boot the crop. Use neem cake
with oil content @ 5 quintal /ha in termite / nematode infested fields.
A minimum of 60 x 30 cm and 90 x 60 cm spacings for varieties and hybrids,
respectively are to be followed for efficient pest management. Fertilizer doses of
60:30:30 and 90:45:45 and 120:60:60 NPK/ha for varieties, hybrids of rainfed cotton
and irrigated cotton, respectively have been found to be optimizing in terms of less
insect pest attacks and higher yields.
Interculture & handweeding of weeds.

23.  Growing trap crops @ 100 plants/ acre.
 Castor as an ovipositional trap crop against S. litura: egg masses,
gregarious larvae of S. litura on castor should be removed once in a week
and destroyed.
Marigold as ovipositional trap crop against Helicoverpa
 Okra (bhendi) against spotted bollworm moths.
 Spray marigold / okra plants with endosulfan or phosalone to
minimize larval population.
 Growing intercrops like blackgram, greengram, soybean, clusterbeans, cowpea,
groundnut, Setaria contribute to build up of natural enemies and give extra
income.

24.  In whitefly endemic areas, keeping yellow empty tins smeared with greese as trap.
Wipe out trapped whiteflies every day and apply greese again.
Keep 10 – 15 pheromone traps / ha to attract male moths. Egg scouting from square
initiation stage is desirable.
PB rope L ( Sex phermone ) dispensers @ 200/ha for the management of pink boll
worm
ETLS –
 PBW: 8 moths, ABW: 10 moths, S. litura: 20 moths, SBW: 15 moths per trap per night.
Use of light traps @ centre of field one per 5 acre.
 Topping (removal of leaf terminals) for 80 – 100 days old crop during October –
November since tender leaves and tips are preferred for egg laying.
 Release of Trichogramma egg parasite @ 50,000/ha and Chrysopa egg larval predator
@ 10,000/ha , should be done as soon as the first brood of boll worms is noticed And at
flowering stage release Trichogramma 1.5 lac / ha for bollworms

25. Hand picking and destruction of various insect stages, affected plant parts and
rosetted flowers.
Clipping of terminal shoots on 90 – 110 days of crop growth depending upon
cultivars.
Spray 5% neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) (soak 10 kg neem seed powder in 200
litres of water for 24 h and filter through muslin cloth) to repel moths from egg
laying and to kill eggs and early instar larvae.
 Spray NPV @ 200 LE / ac in combination with jaggery 1 kg, sandovit 100 ml or
Robin Blue 50 g thrice at 10-15 days interval on observing the eggs or first instar
larvae in the evening hours. The diseased larvae die after 4 – 5 days showing tree
top symptoms.
Spray Sl-NPV in evening hours against tobacco caterpillar
Spray commercially available B. t formulations (DIPEL, DELFIN, BIOBIT, HALT) @
400 g or 400 ml/ac against Helicoverpa

26. If untreated seed is sown, apply carbofuran 3G 12 – 14 kg/ac or phorate 10G 4 – 5
kg/ac nearer to the base of seedlings when the soil is moist.
If the seed treatment is not done or granules are not applied, stem application
using small brush with Monocrotophos or methyl demeton in 1:4 dilution
Imidacloprid in 1:20 dilution at 20, 40, 60 DAS against sucking pests up to 75 days
without harming natural enemies and environment and minimizing insecticide
quantity
 need based spray monocrotophos 1.6 ml/l or dimethoate 2.0 ml/l or triazophos
2.5 ml/l or methyl demeton 2 ml/l or imidacloprid 0.4 ml/l ,When there are 5 – 10
whiteflies / leaf , 1 – 2 leafhoppers / leaf , 15 – 20 % aphid infested plants.
On the basis of ETLs spray the following insecticides, endosulfan 2 ml/l or
chlorpyriphos 2 ml/l or quinalphos 2 ml/l or methylparathion 1 ml/l or carbaryl 3 g/l
or triazophos 2 ml/l or thiodicarb 1.5 g/l or profenophos 2 ml/l
 Mixing mustard oil with endosulfan 1:2 or chlorpyriphos 1:4 improves toxicity
 In the entire schedule of spray, do not spray synthetic pyrethroids for more than
two rounds.

27. Do not extend the normal crop period and avoid rationings.
Grazing by animals after last picking is recommended for checking the
carry over population of bollworms.
 Remove and make use of crop residues after last picking as FYM or in
Paper Industry.
 Staking the cotton stalks near the field should be avoided. Destroy opened
bolls on the plant.
Crushing of cotton seeds should be completed by early April in North
Zone.
Otherwise fumigate the seeds by the end of May under expert supervision.
Clean the gin thrashers for checking of carry over population of pink
bollworm. Install pink bollworm pheromone traps in the premises of
ginning factories to trap emerging pink bollworm moths.

29. STAGE WISE IPM PRACTICES TO BE ADOPTED AGAINST COTTON PESTS
Pre-sowing
• Deep plough in summer.
• Removal of alternate hosts.
• Avoid cotton after cotton.
•Adopt crop rotation.
At sowing for Sucking pests
•Early sowing
•Adopt recommended spacing & fertilization
Vegetative growth stage (20 – 50 days)
Sucking pest
•Check population on trap crops & inter crops.
•Release of Chrysoperla grubs @ 10,000/ha.
• Spray neem products for whitefly.
• If pest persists spray recommended insecticides.
Shoot borer Crushing of larvae in the shoots mechanically.
Bollworms : Monitoring : Set pheromone traps.
Whitefly : Monitoring : Fix yellow sticky traps.

30. Early fruiting stage (50 – 80 days )
Sucking pest
•Management of trap crops & inter crops.
•Release Chrysoperla @ 10,000 /ha.
Bollworms :
•Management of population in trap crops.
•Release of Trichogramma @ 1.5 lac/ha.
•Set up bird perchers.
Whitefly : Use neem products
Peak flowering & fruiting stage (80 -120 days )
Whitefly : Spray triazophos/acephate/acetamprid.
Bollworms :
•Collection & destruction of damaged floral bodies.
•Collection of grown up larvae under destruction.
•Use Ha. NPV @ 250 – 500 LE/ha.
•Use neem products.
•Removal of terminals (topping) is to be done.
•Recommended window strategy of IRM should be followed.
Spodoptera
•Use pheromone traps.
•Hand collection & destruction of
egg masses & early instar larvae.
•Spray Spodoptera NPV in evening
hours.
• Spray recommended insecticides.
•Adopt poison baiting technique.

31. Boll opening stage (120 -150 days)
Bollworms
•Need based application of recommended insecticides.
•Don’t extend the crop period.
• Use monitoring device.
•Collection and destruction of damaged parts & grown
up larvae.
•Spray recommended insecticide alternatively using different groups with power
sprayers.
After last picking of cotton
•Allow grazing by animals.
• Remove and destroy crop residue.
• Avoid stacking of the cotton stalks near the fields.
•Destroy the opened bolls if any on the plant before stacking.
• Crushing of cotton seeds to be completed by April end.
• Fumigation of seeds may be undertaken with expert supervision.
• Clean the Gins thrashers to check PBW population.
•Install PBW traps in ginneries.

32. Role of B.t Cotton: Advances in biotechnological approaches
facilitated introduction
B.t transgenic cotton which offered greatest protection against American
bollworm.
Oflate B.t cotton have dramatically changed the plant protection scenario in
cotton worldwide.
 Growing of B.t cotton has been highly successful against bollworms.
This is evident in increased area under B.t cotton in India from 72,000 acres in
2002 to 10.15 m. ha in 2009 -10.
 B.t cotton varieties with Cry IAc toxin protein (B.t. 1) have been targeting
American bollworm, Spotted bollworm and Pink bollworm but not tobacco
caterpillar.
However gene pyramiding of Cry IAc and Cry IIAb (B.t. 2) could offer protection
against tbacco caterpillar.in addition to bollworms.

33. Conclusions
· IPM technology has got wide scope in agriculture
· It is a low cost technology
· It is free from spreading pollution in environment or in soil
· It can help in the maintaining the natural bio-agents
· Farmers can produce HaNPV at village level and can meet their own
Requirements
· There is no secondary outbreak of pest and diseases