Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia)
Aphids (Aphis gossypii)
Symptoms
- Aphids attacks the plants by sucking the leaf sap.
- In young stage, cotyledonary leaves crinkle and in severe cases the plants wither.
- The leaves of fully grown vines turn yellow and plant loses its vigour.
- Ants can be seen associated with the aphids.
- Aphids secrete a sticky, sugary substance called honeydew which encourages the growth of sooty mold on the plants
Management
- Use tolerant varieties if available.
- Reflective mulches such as silver colored plastic can deter aphids from feeding on plants.
- Plants can be sprayed with a strong jet of water to knock aphids from leaves.
- Oils such as neem or canola oil are usually the best method of control
- Apply 1.5% fish oil soap.
- Release 1st instar larvae of green lacewing bug (Chrysoperla zastrowi zi/lem1) (10,000/acre).
- Hang yellow sticky (castor oil coated) traps@ 20 no/ha. Spray Lecanicillium lecanii (synonym Verticillium lecanii) (20 g/litre of water) or Beauveria bassiana (20 g/litre of water).
- Spray neem garlic emulsion (20 ml neem oil + 20 gram garlic paste+ 5 gram bar soap/litre of water).
Chemical Control
| Sl.No | Generic Name | Trade Name | Color code | Dosage/litre | Knapsack Sprayer (Capacity 10L) | Recommendation | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dosage/acre (200 L) | Dosage/hectare (500 L) | |||||||
| 1 | Cyantraniliprole 10.26% OD | Benevia | Green | 2 ml/litre of water | 20 ml | 400 ml | 1000 ml | spray |
| 2 | Imidacloprid 70 WG | Admire, Apache R-Bullet, Chemida, Cohigan Royal, Dzire, Tagmyre | Yellow | 0.1 g/litre of water | 1 g | 20 g | 50 g | - |
Extremely Toxic
Highly Toxic
Moderately Toxic
