Insecticide For Eggplant Fruit Borer

The eggplant fruit and shoot borer is a parasitic pest that commonly attacks eggplant, muskmelon and squash plants in Georgia. The insect causes damage along the fruit stems, shoots and leaves. The larvae mine in the stems of the plant causing internal damage to the stem. This insect is most active in hot, dry periods of weather when there are low numbers of other insects around to compete with it for food. Because the fly has only one generation per year, you will usually find eggplant fruit and shoot borer infestations at times of the season when high temperatures prevail.

Insecticide For Eggplant Fruit Borer

Shoot and fruit borer, Leucinodes orbonalis Guenee, is a serious pest of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.). Management practices of this obnoxious pest are limited to frequent spray of chemical insecticides.

Due to increasing levels of resistance of L. orbonalis to different insecticides there is an urgent need to test new chemicals. In this study, nine insecticides such as azadirachtin 0.03EC, abamectin 1.8EC, flubendiamide 24WG, chlorpyriphos 20EC, cartap 50SP, carbosulfan 20EC, thiodicarb 75WP, cypermethrin 10EC, and lambdacyhalothrin 2.5EC belonging to different chemical groups were tested against eggplant shoot and fruit borer in laboratory and field. In laboratory trial, carbosulfan and flubendiamide showed the highest toxicity against fourth instar larvae of L. orbonalis after 24 and 48h of exposure, respectively.

In field trials, they reduced more than 80% shoot and fruit infestation in winter, and 80% shoot and 70% fruit infestation in summer over control. Carbosulfan protected the highest amount of healthy fruit yield in both cropping seasons.

Flubendiamide also showed the similar efficacy. Cartap and thiodicarb were moderately effective in both the seasons. Efficacy of cypermethrin and abamectin was moderate in winter but low in summer.

Lambdacyhalothrin and chlorpyriphos although reduced shoot and fruit infestation of eggplant and protected higher yield as compared to control, their effectiveness was not satisfactory. The performance of azadirachtin against the pest both in the laboratory and field trials was the poorest while that of carbosulfan and flubendiamide was the best. Thus, it is suggested that carbosulfan and flubendiamide may be used for the control of L. orbonalis in eggplant.

Eggplant is a vegetable that is grown in many countries worldwide. The fruit and shoot borer is a pest that affects eggplants, causing damage to the plant and reducing its yield. An insecticide can help protect against this pest by killing it before it has a chance to cause damage. There are several different types of insecticides available that can help prevent damage from this pest.

To find out if you need an insecticide for eggplant fruit and shoot borer, check your plants regularly for signs of damage. The eggplant fruit and shoot borer will leave small holes in the leaves of a plant as it lays its eggs inside them. The larvae will then eat the inside of the leaf until it dies completely, making it look like there are many small holes rather than just one big one like you might see with other pests such as aphids or caterpillars.