Incidence of Pink Bollworm Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) on Flowers (Rosette) of Bt Cotton in Andhra Pradesh, India
A. Appala Raju *
Department of Entomology, Agricultural College Bapatla, Angrau-A.P, India.
G. M. V. Prasada Rao
Department of Entomology, Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) – Lam, Guntur, Angrau-A.P, India.
V. Chinna Babu Naik
Division of Crop Protection, ICAR- CICR (Central Institute for Cotton Research), Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.
C. H. Chiranjeevi
Department of Entomology, Agricultural College Bapatla, Angrau-A.P, India.
A. K. Patibanda
Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural College Bapatla, Angrau-A.P, India.
V. Srinivasa Rao
Department of Statistics and Computer Applications, Agricultural College Bapatla, Angrau-A.P, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The pink bollworm Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) has recently emerged as a serious menace on Bt cotton in India. Extensive roving surveys were conducted in 12 locations of three major cotton growing districts of Andhra Pradesh, India, to assess the level of pink bollworm infestation in Bt cotton during 2018-19 and 2019-20. The dynamics and severity of flower damage due to pink bollworm during the 60-135 days’ crop period were evaluated based on a random sampling of flowers. Survey results revealed a widespread infestation of pink bollworm on Bt cotton flowers across the surveyed sites in a range of 11.8-19.50%. With the advancement of the crop season, a progressive increase in the flower damage was observed till 120 DAS then declined. Reasons for the enhanced flower damage and implications are discussed in this article.
Keywords: BT cotton, rosette flowers, pink bollworm, bollgard