Insect Pests of Fruit, Plantation, Medicinal & Aromatic Crops (2+1)

1. Citrus leaf miner

1.Citrus leaf miner - Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton. Lepidoptera)

Damage

• The larva mines into the tender leaves and form zig - zag galleries which feeds on the epidermal cells leaving behind the remaining leaf tissues quite intact.
• The infested leaves turn pale, gets distorted, and dry.
• The mining of larval may lead to secondary infection by fungi and bacteria causing citrus canker.
Bionomics

• The adult moth is tiny, silvery white with 4.2 mm wing expanse with fringed wings.
• It lays eggs singly on the leaves and twigs.
  
• The fecundity is 36-76 eggs per female.
• The egg period is 2-10 days.
• The larva enters the leaf tissues and feed inside the galleries.
• The larval period last for 5-10 days.
• It pupates in a leaf curl at the leaf margin within a silken cocoon.
• The pupal period is 6-12 days.
Management

• Grow less susceptible variety like PKM 1.
• Collect and destroy damaged leaves along with larvae.
• Spray dichlorvos 76 WSC 1 ml/1 or dimethoate 30 EC 1 ml/ 1 or fenthion 100 EC 1 ml / 1 or monocrotophos 36 WSC 1.5 ml/1 or imidacloprid 200 SL 0.5 ml/ 1 or NSKE 5% or neem oil 3% after new flush formation.
• Encourage activity of parasitoids, Tetrastichus phyllocnistoides, Elasmus sp, and Bracon phyllocnistoides.