short a time as 2 weeks. Thrips feeding on base of leaves

and leaf petiole, affect plants’ cosmetic appearance with

morphological deformity.

Thrips Damage

8. Silver striped Hawk moth, Hippotion celerio

Larvae may be green, yellowish green or even brown. They

have a dark broken mid-dorsal line and a creamy dorso-

lateral line from the fifth segment to the horn. The head is

round, and usually a dull green colour. The larva has a horn

which is usually long and straight. There is a large yellow

and green eyespot on the third segment and a smaller one

on the fourth segment. Small-to-large holes in the leaf

margin is typical damage symptom. The larvae, particularly

during the later stages, feed voraciously, leading to severe

defoliation, the leaves may be consumed down to ground

level. The larvae also feed on young succulent stems and

shoots and the newly sprouted shoots.

Moth Damage

II. Pest Surveillance

Weekly monitoring through pest scouting and with the help

of monitoring device like colored sticky traps may be done

from sprouting to harvesting stage. For field scouting 100

plants per acre in a cross diagonal pattern through zig zag

manner is required to be observed for counting of each and

every type of insects which may fall in the pathway. If 95%

plants found free from insect pests then the field should be

considered fit for export of Taro.

III. Management Practices:

The following Good Agricultural Practices should be adopted for

the management of various Taro pests:

1. Destruction of debris, crop residues, weeds & other alternate

hosts and deep summer ploughing; weeding and earthing up

in rows should be done 25-30 days after sowing to prevent

soil based pupation.

2. Adoption of proper crop rotation and use of resistant and

tolerant varieties recommended by the State Agricultural

Universities of the region.

3. Use well decomposed FYM @ 8-10 tones per acre or vermi-

compost @ 5 tons per acre treated with Trichoderma sp. and

Pseudomonas sp. @ 2 kg per acre for seed / nursery

treatment and soil application.

4. Set up yellow/blue traps/ sticky traps 15 cm. above the crop

canopy for monitoring and mass trapping of Thrips, white fly

Aphids@ 10-20 traps per acre.

5. Conserve the existing bio-control agents like Spiders,

Coccinellids, Syrphid flies etc. in the field by avoiding,

delaying and reducing the use of chemical pesticides.

6. Augment the bio-control agents like egg parasitoids-

Trichogramma sp., larval parasitoid- Bracon sp., Campoletis

chlorideae, predators like Chrysopa sp., Coccinella sp.

Biodiversity in natural enemies: Parasitoids

Biodiversity in natural enemies: Predator

Integrated Pest Management

(IPM) in Taro (Colocasia

esculenta) for export purpose

For more details please contact:

Plant Protection Adviser Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage

NH IV, Faridabad—121 001 (Haryana) Tel: 0129-2410056, 2413985, Fax: 0129-2412125

e-mail: ppa@nic.in Website: agricoop.nic.in, ppqs.gov.in

Government of India

Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare

Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage

NH IV, Faridabad—121 001 (Haryana)

Dr. S. N. Sushil, Plant Protection Adviser

Dr. J. P. Singh, JD (Ento.)

Sh. P.K. Ghosh, DD (Ento.)

Dr. Mir Samim Akhtar, AD (Ento.)

aro (Colocasia esculenta) is an important vegetable grown in

many areas particularly in fertile wet areas of India. The

underground corm is harvested and eaten after cooking, besides

leaves and petioles of leaves are used for many purposes. Several

insect pests viz. Armyworm, White spotted flea beetle, Aphids,

Whitefly, Lace bug, Thrips, Hawk moth (that are often necessary to

control) attack the taro plant. These insects attack various parts of

the plant and cause serious damage to taro and are important in

view of export to E.U.

I. Identification of different Taro pests

1. Armyworm, Spodoptera litura

It is a pest of Asia and the Pacific with a wide host range. Eggs

are laid in masses and are covered with hair scales from the tip

of the abdomen of the female moth. Egg masses are usually

creamy to golden-brown coloured. Larvae are variable in

colour: young larvae are pale green, whereas later instars are

dark green to brown. Bright yellow stripes along the dorsal

surface are characteristic of larvae of Spodoptera litura. The

adult is grey–brown, forewings are grey to reddish-brown, with

a strongly variegated pattern and paler lines along the veins.

The hind wings are greyish-white with grey margins. The early

larval stages remain together at first, later radiating out from

the egg mass, stripping the interveinal leaf surface and

skeletonising the leaves as they advance. Later stages eat all

parts of the leaf, including the petioles.

Larvae (just hatched) Damaged leaf Adult & Larva

2. White spotted flea beetle, Monolepta signata

Minute eggs are laid in soil cracks around the base of the host

plant. Minute worm-like larvae live in the soil and feed on small

plant roots and root hairs. The hard forewings are black with

two yellowish markings, one in front and the other behind the

middle. Head, thorax and abdomen are reddish brown in older

beetles and much brighter in younger beetles. Beetles are

about 3–3.8 mm long with long antennae. Adults make large

holes in leaves by feeding lef tissues. Adults are conspicuous

and commonly found on leaves.

Adult Damage leaf

3. Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci

Adults are soft-bodied, moth-like fly, yellowish dusted with

white waxy powder and 1.0- 1.5 mm in length. The females

mostly lay eggs near the veins on the underside of leaves. They

prefer hairy leaf surfaces to lay more eggs. Upon hatching, the

first nymph moves on the leaf surface to locate a suitable

feeding site. The wings are covered with powdery wax and the

body is light yellow in color. Both the adults and nymphs suck

the plant sap and reduce the vigor of the plant. When the

populations are high they secrete large quantities of honeydew,

which favours the growth of sooty mould.

Whitefly Damage symptoms

4. Cotton aphids, Aphis gossypii

The eggs are yellow, but they soon become shiny black in color.

Nymphs vary in color from tan to gray or green. The body of

adult is varied from light green mottled with dark green, but

also are whitish, yellow, pale green, and dark green forms.

Cotton aphids feed on the underside of leaves, or on growing

tip of veins, sucking nutrients from the plant. The foliage may

become chlorotic and die prematurely. Their feeding also

causes a great deal of distortion and leaf curling, hindering

photosynthetic capacity of the plant.

Cotton aphids Damage

5. Banana aphids, Pentalonia nigronervosa

Banana aphids are the pest of taro mainly found in the lower

region of the leaf along mid rib. Damage is caused by both

nymphs and adults by sucking cell sap. Black shooty molds

develop on honey dew secreted by aphids on leaves. Dry

condition favours population flair up.

6. Banana Lace Bug, Stephanitis typical

Banana lace bug is also the pest of taro mainly feed on leaves.

Lace bugs develop through three life stages: egg, nymph, and

adult and have several generations a year. Females insert tiny,

oblong eggs in leaf tissue and cover them with dark excrement.

Lace bugs can overwinter as eggs in leaves of taro . All life

stages can be present throughout the year in leaves and petiole

of leaves . Adults and nymphs feed on the lower leaf surface,

mostly in the region of the midrib. Feeding causes small white

spots on the upper leaf surface opposite the feeding site;

chlorotic spots and dark excreta marks are left on the lower leaf

surface. On taro leaves, the stylets are inserted through the

stomata, rupturing cell walls, and terminating in the phloem.

Lace bugs Damage

7. Leaf Thrips, Thrips sp.

Thrips hatch from an egg and develop through two actively

feeding larval stages and two non-feeding stages, the

prepupa and pupa, before becoming an adult. Females of

most plant-feeding species lay their elongate, cylindrical to

kidney-shaped eggs on or into leaves, buds, or other

locations where larvae feed. When the weather is warm,

the life cycle from egg to adult may be completed in as

T