Biological Control & Institutions
|
Topic |
Key Point |
|
Epiricania melanoleuca |
A lepidopteran parasitoid effective against Sugarcane pyrilla (Pyrilla perpusilla) |
|
Law for pest control in India |
Governed by Destructive Insects and Pests Act (1914) |
|
Biological weed control |
Use of bio-agents to manage weeds |
|
IIBC |
International Institute of Biological Control, West Indies (est. 1927) |
|
IOBC |
International Organization for Biological Control, Zurich, Switzerland |
|
PDBC |
Project Directorate of Biological Control, Bangalore (est. 1993) |
|
PDBC renamed as |
NBAII – National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects (in 2009) |
|
NCIPM |
National Centre for Integrated Pest Management, New Delhi (1988) |
Rice Pests & Diseases
|
Pest / Disease |
Causal Agent / Vector / Key Info |
|
Rice stem borer |
Scirpophaga incertulas — monophagous pest of rice |
|
Vector of Rice Tungro Virus |
Green Leaf Hopper (Nephotettix virescens) |
|
Vector of Grassy Stunt Virus |
Brown Plant Hopper (Nilaparvata lugens) |
|
Hopper burn symptoms |
Due to BPH (Nilaparvata lugens) |
|
Gundhi bug (Leptocorisa acuta) |
Causes chaffy grains with black spots; attacks at milky stage |
|
Serious pest of wheat |
Termite – attacks all parts of plant |
|
Specific pest of wheat nursery |
Ghujhia weevil (Tanymecus indicus) |
|
Wheat stem borer |
Sesamia inferens – lays eggs at night |
|
Tundu disease control |
Hot water treatment (50°C for 2 hrs) |
Cotton Pests & Symptoms
|
Symptom / Condition |
Caused By |
|
Flaring of squares |
Spotted bollworm (Earias vitella) |
|
Rosette flower formation |
Pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) |
|
Double seed formation |
Pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) |
|
Large circular bore holes with faecal pellets on bolls |
American bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) |
|
Recent control method for bollworms |
Bt transgenic cotton plants |
Termites & Soil Pests
|
Topic |
Key Point |
|
Pest attacking all plant parts |
Termite |
|
Egg-laying rate of queen termite |
~1 egg per second |
|
Preferred soil type for white grubs |
Sandy or sandy loam soils |
|
Termite control |
Irrigation also helps |
|
International pest |
Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria) |
Vectors & Viral Diseases
|
Disease / Crop |
Vector / Insect |
|
Rice Tungro |
Green Leaf Hopper (Nephotettix virescens) |
|
Grassy Stunt of Rice |
Brown Plant Hopper (Nilaparvata lugens) |
|
Leaf curl diseases |
Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) |
Apiculture
|
Topic |
Key Point |
|
Wax moth (Galleria mellonella) |
Most serious pest of beehives |
|
Pollen basket (Corbicula) |
Found on hind tibia of worker bees |
|
Safest insecticide for bees |
Endosulfan |
Insect Physiology & Ecology
|
Topic |
Key Point |
|
Insects are |
Poikilothermic (cold-blooded) – can’t regulate body temperature |
|
Thermal constant |
Total heat required for completion of life cycle is constant for a species |
|
Cryptobiosis |
Insects become quiescent during adverse conditions, showing no visible metabolism |
|
Limnetic zone |
Open water zone with effective light penetration |
General Entomology
|
Topic |
Key Point |
|
Word ‘Entomology’ derived from |
Greek words: Entomon = insect, Logos = discourse |
|
Pest population should be kept below |
Economic Threshold Level (ETL) |
|
Best time for insecticide application |
When pest population reaches ETL (Action Threshold) |
