PEPPER :: MAJOR PEST :: TOP SHOOT BORER

2. Top shoot borer: Cydia hemidoxa (Eucosmidae: Lepidoptera)
Distribution and status: India 
Damage symptoms
         Serious pests of pepper in Kerala. The larva feeds on growing and young leaves causing drying and dying of terminal shoots. 

Bionomics
Larva greyish green, 12-14 mm long, larval period 10 -15 days. Pupates inside shoots, pupal period 8 – 10 days. Adult moth is tiny, forewing black with distal half red, hind wing greyish. Life cycle completed in a month.
Management
Spray endosulfan 35 EC 1.0 L or quinalphos  25 EC 1.0 L in 500 - 1000 L water/ha