Of late, drumstick pod is found to be seriously injured by a pod or fruit fly. Infestation of this pest starts from fruit initiation and persists till harvesting stage. Maggots enter into tender fruits by boring small-bore holes at the terminal end.
Gummy sapDue to this injury a gummy exudation drips down from the pods resulting in shrinking, rotting, drying and splitting of the fruits.
As many as 25-30 maggots can be found inside a single infested drumstick pod. This pest is reported to cause 70 per cent loss under poor management conditions.
The adults are small yellowish fly with red eyes. They lay minute eggs on the outer grooves of tender pods.
After 3-4 days the eggs hatch into maggots and start piercing the tissues of pods and develop for a period of 18-25 days.
Full grown cream coloured maggots fall on to the ground and pupate in soil for 5-7 days.
The brownish puparia may undergo dormancy until they get suitable environment to emerge as adult flies. Its activity is maximum from April to October.
— Periodically collect and destroy all the fallen and damaged fruits by dumping in a pit and covering with a thick layer of soil to prevent carry-over of the pest.
— Use attractants like citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, vinegar (acetic acid), dextrose or lactic acid to trap flies.
— Fermented tomato fruit traps at 25 no/ ha can be placed.
— Frequently rake up the soil under the trees or plough the infested field to destroy puparia and drench neem seed kernel extract 5 per cent at 2 lit/tree during 50 per cent fruit set.
Spraying— Spray dichlorvos 76 SC 500 ml or malathion 50 EC 750 ml in 500 - 750 L of water per ha when pods are 20-30 days old and apply Azadirachtin 0.03 per cent during 50 per cent fruit set and 35 days later.
— Thiamethoxam 25 WG at 800g / ha may applied in soil on 150, 180 and 210 days after planting.
— Harvest the pods at least after seven days of spraying to avoid residual toxicity.
(Dr. J. Jayaraj Professor and Dr. M. Kalyanasundaram, Professor and Head, Department of Entomology
Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai 625 104, Phone: 0452-2422956 Extn.214, email: agentomac@tnau.ac.in)
