Eggplant Integrated Pest Management AN ECOLOGICAL GUIDE

__________________________________________________________________________________Major Eggplant Insect PestsIn the following sections an indication of the number of generations per year, and the duration of parts ofthe insect’s life cycle are given. It is emphasized that these figures are indications only as they dependon local climate (temperature, humidity). In general: the warmer, the quicker the insect’s life cycle. Theactual duration of the life cycle of a specific insect or natural enemy from your area can be checked bysetting up an insect zoo experiment (see section 4.3).5.1 Fruit and Shoot Borer - Leucinodes orbonalisSee photos 3, 5, 6, 7 (page 175, 176).Fruit and shoot borer (FSB) is probably the most serious insect pest of eggplant in South Asia.This insect is also called brinjal fruit borer or eggplant fruit borer.Description and life cycleThe adult moth is gray with a pink or bluish tinge and brown to black spots on its wings. The adults areactive during nights. All major activities like feeding, mating and finding a place for egg-laying take placeduring night. During the day, adults hide in nearby shady plots. Only dying adults can be found in aneggplant field. Adults live for only about 4 days. The adult male dies after mating and the female mothdies after laying eggs.(from: Kar et al, 1995, CARE Bangladesh)Creamy-white eggs are laid singly or in groups on the underside of the leaves, on stems, flower buds, orat the base of the fruits. Up to about 260 eggs can be laid by a single female moth. The eggs are stickyand they are firmly attached to the leaf surface. Eggs are very small and it is difficult to find them in thefield.The eggs hatch between 7 to 19 days after laying. Upon hatching, the larvae crawl for about 30 – 60minutes to locate a suitable site for penetration. Then they bore inside a top shoot or a fruit. The fruits arepreferred to shoots. The young caterpillar is whitish in color and turns light pink to light brown as itmatures. There are five or six larval instars. First instar larvae are less than 1mm in length, the last instarlarva is 15 – 18 mm long. The larval period varies from 12 – 15 days in summer and 14 – 25 days inwinter.Larvae can be found inside wilted shoots and inside fruits. Fruit damage will not be obvious, especially inround varieties where the entry hole closes quickly upon growth of the fruit. The first indication is a smallhole in the fruit stalk or in the fruit itself. This is where the insect has entered. Cut the fruit near this entryhole and you will find areas where the larva has tunneled. The tunnels contain frass and insect remains.If you continue to cut around this area you may locate the live larva. Several larvae can be found in onefruit.70Eggplant Ecological Guide