What is maize stalk borer moth and its importance?
What is maize stalk borer moth and its importance?
Summary. The African maize stalkborer is indigenous to and occurs throughout mainland sub-Saharan Africa . The larval stage (caterpillars) cause damage to maize by feeding on young leaves from where they can enter the stems. This may kill the plant. In older plants their feeding can damage can reduce grain production.
What are the effects of maize stalk borer?
Symptoms of maize stalk borer, Busseola fusca, damage on leaves: (A) characteristic “window panes,” (B) shot holes where tissue has been eaten away, and (D) dead heart. Symptoms of damage to stems and cobs: (C) galleries filled with frass, (E) cobs showing frass, and (F) deposits and empty grains.
How do you control a stalk borer?
There are no rescue treatments for stalk borers once they enter the plant. In reduced tillage or weedy situations, treatment may be advisable if the cover crop or weeds in the field are infested prior to planting.
How do you control maize stem borer?
Over the years, spinosad 45% EC at 0.5 ml L-1 of water was effective bio-pesticide to control maize stem borer damage and also increase the yield.
What is maize stalk borer moth?
Busseola fusca is a species of moth that is also known as the maize stalk borer. It is known from Ethiopia. The wingspan is 35–40 mm. Adults are pale brown. If not controlled, stalk borers cause yield loss between 20 – 100% in maize.
What is scientific name of maize?
Zea mays
Corn/Scientific names
What do stalk borers look like?
Adult common stalk borer are small, brown moths. The front wings are typically gray-brown in color with a few clusters of small white spots and span approximately 1 to 1.4 inches. The latter part of the abdomen is cream in color. Fully developed caterpillars are 1.5 to 2 inches in length.
What causes stalk borer?
Larvae bore into the stalks of grasses or other hosts such as ragweed and begin feeding. As they become larger or if the plants are mowed, terminated mechanically or burned down with herbicides, the stalk borers migrate into adjacent corn plants to complete their development.
How do you control a stalk borer tomato?
Tomato plants that die should be pulled and destroyed. The destruction of the plants may also kill the stalk borer. Cutting or mowing tall weedy areas around vegetable gardens may also help control the pest. Stalk borers cannot be effectively controlled with insecticides.
How do you control maize disease?
Control measures
- Use of resistant varieties like Ganga Safed 2.
- Crop sanitation, crop rotations.
- Avoiding water stress at flowering.
- Seed treatment with Thiram or Captan 3g/kg seed.
Is stem borer a pest of maize?
Stem borers have been the most damaging group of insect pests in maize cultivation worldwide. Feeding by borer larvae on maize plants usually results in crop losses as a consequence of death of the growing point (dead heart), early leaf senescence, reduced translocation, lodging and direct damage to the ears.
What do you mean by stem borer?
: an insect larva that bores in plant stems especially : a cerambycid larva of the genus Oberea.