Sorghum Insect Pest & Their Management

Sorghum Insect Pest

Pests of Sorghum

Major Pests
Scientific name	Family	Order
Sorghum Shootfly
Atherigona soccata	Muscidae	Diptera
Stem borer
Chilo partellus	Crambidae	Lepidoptera
Pink stem borer
Sesamia inferens	Noctuidae	Lepidoptera
Shoot bug
Peregrinus maidis	Delphacidae	Hemiptera
Earhead bug
Calocoris angustatus	Miridae	Hemiptera
Sorghum midge
Contarinia sorghicola	Cecidomyiidae	Diptera
Plant lice (Aphids)
Rhopalosiphum maidis, Melanaphis sacchari	Aphididae	Hemiptera
Minor Pests
Scientific name	Family	Order
Earhead web worm
Cryptoblabes gnidiella	Pyraustidae	Lepidoptera
Gram caterpillar
Helicoverpa armigera	Noctuidae	Lepidoptera
Plant bug
Dolycoris indicus	Pentatomidae	Hemiptera
Leaf roller
Marasmia trapezalis	Pyralidae	Lepidoptera
Red hairy caterpillar
Amsacta albistriga, A.moorei	Arctiidae	Lepidoptera
Semilooper
Eublemma silicula	Noctuidae	Lepidoptera

Sorghum Insect Pest

Major Pests

1.Sorghum Shootfly

Scientific name: Atherigona soccata 

Host range– Maize, Ragi, Bajra, Rice, Wheat

Damage symptoms

• The maggot on hatching migrates to the upper surface of leaf and enters between the leaf sheath and stem.
• After reaching the soil level, the maggot bores inside the stem and cuts the growing point resulting in “dead heart” symptom.
• The infested plant produces side tillers.
• The attack is more severe during summer than kharif season.

Management

• Use higher seed rate (12.5 kg/ha) and remove the shoot fly damaged seedlings at the time of thinning or raise nursery.
• Treat 100 kg seeds with chlorpyriphos 20 EC 400 ml or quinalphos 25 EC 400 ml or imidacloprid 48 FS 1.2 L
• Granular application of phorate 10 G or carbofuran 3 G to the furrow at the time of sowing at 2.5 kg a.i./ha.
• Spray endosulfan 35 EC @18 ml, dimethoate 30 EC @ 12 ml and methyl demeton 25 EC @12 ml for an area of 120 m2 nursery.
• Spray in the mainfield – endosulfan 35 EC 500 ml, dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml

2.Stem borer

Scientific name: Chilo partellus

Host range- Maize, Sorghum, Sugarcane, Bajra, Rice, Finger Millet.

Damage symptoms

• It infests the crop a month after sowing and the damage persists upto emergence of ear heads. Central shoot withering leading to “dead heart” is the typical damage symptom.
• Bore holes are visible on the stem near the nodes.
• Young larva crawls and feeds on tender folded leaves causing typical “shot hole” symptom.
• Affected parts of stem may show internally tunneling caterpillars.

Management

• The stubbles should be ploughed up during winter and burnt to destroy the hibernating larvae.
• Sow lab lab or Dolichos as an intercrop in the ratio of 4:1 to minimise the stem borer damage.
• Set up light trap till midnight to attract and kill the stem borer moths.
• Bio-control agents viz.,Trichogramma chilonis (egg parasitoids), Bracon chinensis & Apanteles flavipes, (larval parasitoids) should be encouraged.
• Mix  insecticides with sand to make up the total quantity of 50 kg and apply in the leaf whorls, as- Phorate- 10G 8kg, carbofuran 3G 17kg, endosulfan 4D 25 kg
• Spray endosulfan 35 EC 750 ml (or) carbaryl 50 WP 1 kg(500 L spray fluid/ha).

3.Pink stem borer

Scientific name: Sesamia inferens

Host range– Sorghum, Maize, Rice, Wheat, Sugarcane, Bajra & Ragi, Barley.

Damage symptoms

• The pink larva bores into the stem and damages the central shoot resulting in dead heart.

Management

• Release egg parasitoids: Telenomus sp., Trichogramma chilonis.
• Larval parasitoids: Apanteles flavipes, Bracon hebetor, Pupal parasitoid, Tetrastichus ayyari
• Spray endosulfan 35 EC @ 1 L/ha or chlorpyriphos 20 EC 1.0 L / ha
• apply carbofuran 3 G @ 25 kg/ ha.

4.Shoot bug

Scientific name: Peregrinus maidis

Host range– Sorghum, Maize, Rice, Millets

Damage symptoms

• Adults and nymphs suck sap from plants.
• The attacked plants become unhealthy stunted and yellow.
• The leaves wither from top downwards.
• Panicle formation is inhibited and the plants die if attack is severe.

Management

• Conserve egg parasitoids viz., Paranagrus optabilis, Octetrastichus indicus
• Predators- Coccinella septumpunctatum, Menochilus sexmaculatus, Geocoris tricolor
• Spray dimethoate or methyl demeton 500 ml in 500 L of water.

5.Earhead bug

Scientific name: Calocoris angustatus

Host range– Pearl Millet, Maize, Tenai, Sugarcane

Damage symptoms

• The adults and nymphs damage the earheads by feeding on them.
• They suck the juice from the grains when they are in the milky stage.
• The sucked out grains, shrink and turn black in colour and become ill filled or chaffy.
• Older grain shows distinct feeding punctures that reduce grain quality.

Management

• Dust with carbaryl 10% at 12 kg/ha (or) quinalphos 1.5% 12 kg/ha.
• synchronising during milky stage.
• Grow resistant cultivars like, IS-17645, CSM 388, Chencholam

6.Sorghum midge

Scientific name: Contarinia sorghicola

Hosts– Sorghum cultivated and wild species.

Damage symptoms

• A maggot feeds on the developing grains and pupates there.
• White pupal cases protruding out from the grains and chaffy grains with holes are the damage symptoms.

Management

• Conserve larval parasitoids – Apanteles sp., Eupelones popa, Larval and
• Pupal parasitoid – Tetrastichus spp.,
• Predators – Orius albidipennis, Tapinoma indicum
• Spray endosulfan 35 EC 1.0 L or malathion 50 EC 1.0 L or carbaryl 50 WP 2 kg/ha or endosulfan 4 D or malathion 5 D or carbaryl 10 D or quinalphos 1.5 D at 25 kg/ha

7.Plant lice (Aphids)

Scientific name: Rhopalosiphum maidis, Melanaphis sacchari

Host range– Sorghum, Maize, Ragi

Damage symptoms

• Colonies of aphids are seen in central leaf whorl, stems or in panicles.
• The young and adults suck the plant juice.
• This frequently causes yellowish mottling of the leaves and marginal leaf necrosis.
• Aphid also transmits maize dwarf mosaic virus.

Management

• Spray a contact or systemic insecticide like dimethoate 30 EC or methyl demeton 25 EC 500 ml in 500 L of water

Minor Pests

7.Ear head web worm

Scientific name: Cryptoblabes gnidiella

Host– Sorghum, Maize

Damage symptoms

• The larvae destroy the grain in the head.
• They produce webs of silken thread that remain on and inside the head.
• Heavily infested heads may be covered with webbing.

8.Gram caterpillar

Scientific name: Helicoverpa armigera

Host Range– Cotton, Sorghum, Soybean, Pea, Safflower, Chillies, Tomato, Groundnut, Tobacco, Gram, Okra, Maize.

Damage symptoms

• Larvae hide within the ear heads and feeds on the grains.
• Ear heads are partially eaten and appear chalky.
• Feacal pellets are visible within the ear head.

9.Plant bug

Scientific name: Dolycoris indicus

Damage symptoms-

• Grains become chaffy or spotted black and get shriveled.

10.Stink bug

Scientific name: Nezara viridula

Damage symptoms

• Grains become chaffy or spotted black and get shriveled.
• A stinking smell emanates from the bug.

11.Slug caterpillar

Scientific name: Thosea apierens

Damage symptoms

• Irregular feeding and defoliation are the symptoms of attack.

12.Leaf roller

Scientific name: Marasmia trapezalis

Damage symptoms

• Leaves are folded longitudinally especially near the tips and leaves dry from the tip.

Management

• Hand pick rolled leaves and spray carbaryl 50 WP at 1 kg/ha.

13.Flea beetle

Scientific name: Cryptocephalus schestedii, Monolepta signata

Damage symptoms

• It makes small holes on the leaves.

Management

• Spray endosulfan 35 EC 1.0 L in 750 L of water

14.Red hairy caterpillar

Scientific name: Amsacta albistriga, A. moorei

Host range– Maize, Sorghum, Green Gram, Sesame, Pearl Millet, Finger Millet, Groundnut, Sunhemp, Castor, Cotton.

Damage symptoms

• The larvae feed on the leaves gregariously by scrapping the under surface of tender leaflets leaving the upper epidermal layer intact in early stages.
• Later, they feed voraciously on the leaves and main stem of plants.
• Severely affected field looks as if grazed by cattle

Management

• Use light trap
• Dig trenches around the infested field
• dust any of the insecticide viz., endosulfan 6% D or methyl parathion 2% D or fenvalarate 2% D.
• Spray endosulfan 35 EC 750 ml/ha quinalphos 25 EC 750 ml/ha or chlorpyriphos 20 EC 1250 ml/ha in 37 litres of water.

15.Semilooper

Scientific name: Eublemma silicula

Damage symptoms

Extensive webbing of grains and presence of broken grains can be seen on the ear head

Management

• Spray 2-3 rounds of phosalone 750 ml in 500 L of water

16.Ash weevils

Scientific name: Myllocerus maculosus, M.viridanus

Host range- Bajra, maize, sorghum, pulses, groundnut, cotton, guava

Damage symptoms

• Leaf margins are notched resulting in wilting of plants in patches.
• Plants come off easily when pulled. Roots are eaten away by grubs.
• Adult feed on leaves.

Management

• Spray 2.5 kg carbaryl 50 WP in 500 L of water/ha

Sorghum Insect Pest