Major Pests in Tomato Crop

1. Fruit borer
2. Serpentine leaf miner
3. Leaf eating caterpillar
4. Whitefly
5. Thrips
6. Striped mealybug
7. Red spider mite
8. Pin worm

1.Gram Pod borer/ Fruit borer

Biology

It is a polyphagous pest, infesting gram, lablab, safflower, chillies, groundnut, tobacco, cotton etc.

• Egg: Spherical, yellowish eggs are laid singly on tender parts and buds of plants. The egg period lasts for 2-4 days.
• Larva: Caterpillars are of varying colour, initially brown and later turn greenish with darker broken lines along the side of the body. Body covered with radiating hairs. When full grown, they measure 3.7 to 5 cm in length. The larval period lasts for 18-25 days. The full grown caterpillar pupates in the soil.
• Pupa: Pupation takes place inside the soil in an earthen cell. Pupal stage lasts 7-15 days.
• Adult: Moth is stout, medium sized with brownish/greyish forewings with a dark cross band near outer margin and dark spots near costal margins, with a wing expanse of 3.7cm.

Damage symptoms

• Young larva feeds on the leaves for some time and then attacks fruits. Internal tissues are eaten severely and completely hollowed out. While feeding the caterpillar thrust its head inside leaving the rest of the body outside.
• Bored fruits with round holes.
• Fed leaves, shoots and buds.
• The activity of Helicoverpa starts on green gram, summer vegetables and maize and continues their generation by Aug-Sept months synchronizing with main crop.

Favourable conditions

• Warm weather conditions followed by light rains and dry spells are favourable for multiplication.

Management:

• Collect and destroy the infected fruits and grown up larvae.
• Grow simultaneously 40 days old American tall marigold and 25 days old tomato seedling at 1:16 rows.
• Setup pheromone trap with Helilure at 12/ha
• Collection and destroy of damaged fruits and grown up caterpillars.
• Release Trichogramma pretiosum @ 1 lakh/ha at an interval of 7 days starting from flower initiation stage.
• Provide poison bait with carbaryl 50 WP 1.25 kg, rice bran 12.5 kg, jaggery 1.25 kg and water 7.5 lit/ha
• For effective control of Caterpillar in Tomato  we can use bio pesticide like “LARVEX 250 ml / acre”.

2. Serpentine leaf miner

Biology

• Egg: Eggs are minute in size and orange yellow in colour. The egg hatches in 4 days.
• Larva: Apodous maggot feeds on chlorophyll mining in between epidermal layers. Full grown maggot measures 3 mm. Larval duration is about 7 days.
• Pupa: Pupation is in soil. Some pupae are found in leaves. Pupation takes place inside a thin loose mesh of silken cocoon. Pupal period is about 7 days.
• Adult: It is a pale yellowish fly, measuring 1.5 mm in length. The female fly punctures upper surface of leaf to lay eggs singly. Total life cycle takes 3 weeks.

Damage symptoms

• Leaves with serpentine mines
• Drying dropping of leaves in severe cases

Favourable conditions

• Warm weather conditions are favourable for multiplication.

Management:

• Collect and destroy mined leaves.
• Spray NSKE 5%.
• Spray Neem Seed Kernel Extract 5 %
• For effective control of Caterpillar in Tomato we can use bio pesticide like “LARVEX 250 ml / acre”.

3. Tobacco caterpillar

Biology

It is found throughout the tropical and subtropical parts of the world, wide spread in India. Besides tobacco, it feeds on cotton, castor, groundnut, tomato, cabbage and various other cruciferous crops.

• Eggs: Female lays about 300 eggs in clusters. The eggs are covered over by brown hairs and they hatch in about 3-5 days.
• Larva: Caterpillar measures 35-40 mm in length, when full grown. It is velvety, black with yellowish – green dorsal stripes and lateral white bands with incomplete ring – like dark band on anterior and posterior end of the body. It passes through 6 instars. Larval stage lasts 15-30 days
• Pupa: Pupation takes place inside the soil. Pupal stage lasts 7-15 days.
• Adult: Moth is medium sized and stout bodied with forewings pale grey to dark brown in colour having wavy white crisscross markings. Hind wings are whitish with brown patches along the margin of wing. Pest breeds throughout the year. Moths are active at night. Adults live for 7-10 days. Total life cycle takes 32-60 days. There are eight generations in a year.

Damage symptoms

• In early stages, the caterpillars are gregarious and scrape the chlorophyll content of leaf lamina giving it a papery white appearance. Later they become voracious feeders making irregular holes on the leaves.
• Irregular holes on leaves initially and later skeletonization leaving only veins and petioles.
• Heavy defoliation.
• Bored fruits with irregular holes

Favourable conditions

• Warm weather conditions and rainy conditions are favourable for multiplication.

Management:

• Grow castor as trap crop. Collect and destroy egg masses and early instar larvae.
• Set up pheromone traps @ 12/ha.
• Spray Azadirachtin 1.0 % EC (10000 ppm) 2.0 ml/ lit. or apply Bacillus thuringiensis 2g/lit. during evening hours.
• Plough the soil to expose and kill the pupae.
• Grow castor along border and irrigation channel as trap crop
• Set up light trap @1/ha.
• Pheromone traps (Pherodin SL) @15/ ha to attract male moths
• Collect and destroy egg masses in castor and tomato.
• Hand pick grown up larvae and kill them.
• Poison bait: Rice bran 5 Kg + Molasses or Brown sugar 500g + Carbaryl 50 WP 500g+ 3lit of water/ha. Mix the ingredients well and are kept around the field in the evening hours.
• For effective control of Caterpillar in Tomato we can use bio pesticide like “LARVEX 250 ml / acre”.

4. Whitefly

Biology

• Egg: Pear shaped, light yellowish Stalked
• Nymph: On hatching - Oval, scale-like, greenish white
• Adult: White, tiny, scale-like adult

Damage symptoms

• Chlorotic spots
• Yellowing
• Downward curling and drying of leaves.
• Vector of tomato leaf curl disease.

Favourable conditions

• Warm weather conditions are favourable for multiplication.

Management

• Rouge out and burning of the infected plants in early stages. 
• Use of delta traps or sticky traps for effective catching of whiteflies. 
• Cover the nursery bed with Agronet or nylon net (200 gauge) or muslin cloth for 25-30 DAS to prevent entry of adults of whitefly. 
• Root dipping of seedling in tetracycline solution 1000 ppm (1gm in 1 lit of water) followed by 3 spray after 10-12 days. 
• Use of Carbofuran 3G @ 1.5 kg a.i. per ha as soil treatment in nursery Seed treatment with Gaucho @ 3 g/ kg seed provides protection from whiteflies at nursery. 
• Spray metasystox @ 1.0 ml or imidacloprid @ 0.3 ml per lit of water.
• For effective control of whiteflies we can use bio pesticides like Dr.Eliminator 250ml/acre.

5.Thrips: Thrips tabaci, F. rankliniella

Symptoms of damage:

• Silvery streaks on leaf surface.
• Pre-mature dropping of flowers
• Bud necrosis.
• Vector of tomato spotted wilt virus.

Identification of pest:

• Nymphs: Yellowish
• Adult: Dark coloured with fringed wings

Management:

• Mechanically uproot the diseased plants and destroy them.
• Use yellow sticky traps @ 15/ha.
• Release larvae of Chrysoperla cornea @10,000/ha
• Spray methyl demeton 25 EC @1lit/ha or dimethoate 30 EC @1lit/ha.
• For effective control of Thrips we can use bio pesticides like Dr.Eliminator 250ml/acre.

6.Spider mites

Tetranychus cinnabarinus  (Acaridae: Acarina)

Biology

• Egg: Hyaline , globular laid in mass.
• Nymphs: Yellowish in colour.
• Adult: Red coloured small size.

Damage symptoms

• Affected leaves become reddish brown and bronzy.
• Severe infestation larvae silken webbing on the leaves.
• Leaves wither and dry.
• Flower and fruit formation affected

Favourable conditions

• Warm weather conditions are favourable for multiplication.

Management:

• Spray wettable sulphur 50 WP 2g/lit or dicofol 18.5 EC 2.5 ml/lit.
• Mechanical destruction of infested plant / spot application can check further spread of pest in field.
• For effective control of Thrips we can use bio pesticides like Dr.Eliminator 250ml/acre.

7.Root-knot nematode

Biology

• Most species of plant parasitic nematodes have a relatively simple life cycle consisting of the egg, four larval stages and the adult male and female. They are microscopic in size.
• Development of the first stage larvae occurs within the egg where the first moult occurs. Second stage larvae hatch from eggs to find and infect plant roots or in some cases foliar tissues.
• Under suitable environmental conditions, the eggs hatch and new larvae emerge to complete the life cycle within 4 to 8 weeks depending on temperature.
• Nematode development is generally most rapid within an optimal soil temperature range of 70 to 80°F.

Damage symptoms

• Infected plants in patches in the field.
• Formation of galls on host root system is the primary symptom.
• Roots branch profusely starting from the gall tissue causing a "beard root‟ symptom.
• Infected roots become knobby and knotty.
• In severely infected plants the root system is reduced and the rootlets are almost completely absent. The roots are seriously hampered in their function of uptake and transport of water and nutrients.
• wilt during the hot part of day, especially under dry conditions and are often stunted
• Seedlings infected in nursery do not normally survive transplanting and those surviving have reduced flowering and fruit production.
• Nematode infection predisposes plants to fungal and bacterial root pathogens.

Survival and spread

• Primary: Cysts and egg masses in infected plant debris and soil or collateral and other hosts like Solonaceous, Malvaceous and Leguminaceous plants act as sources of inoculum.
• Secondary: Autonomous second stage juveniles that may also be water dispersed

Favourable conditions

• Loamy light soils.

 Management:

• Rotate crops with non-host plants like cereals.
• Use resistant tomato varieties .
• Practice soil solarization and remove infected plant debris.
• Apply biocontrol agents like Paecilomyces lilacinus or Bacillus subtilis.
• Use predatory nematodes like Steinernema species.
• Add neem cake or compost to the soil.
• Incorporate biofumigants like mustard residues.
• Deep ploughing and solarization.
• Periodic flooding to reduce nematode populations