Expert Advisory Details

Suggestions for protecting maize crop from Borer attack

Maize borer: The maize borer is a serious pest from June to September. Its’ larvae first scrape the leaves and then bore into the stem through the whorl or leaf sheath. The central leaves of the attacked whorl get perforated. In a young plant, the growing point is killed and a dead-heart results. Adopt the following integrated control measures:

• Kill the borer larvae hibernating in plant remnants like stubbles, stalks, cobs, and cores. Plough up the fields after harvesting the maize crop, collect the stubbles and destroy them. Use maize stalks, cobs, and cores by the end of February. Chop the remaining stalks, if any, for subsequent use. For seed, keep only healthy cobs, free from borer attack. Remove and destroy the plants showing severe borer injury, while hoeing the crop.
• Use trichocards twice having 40,000 eggs of Corcyra cephalonica parasitized by Trichogramma chilonis per acre. First release on 10 days old crop and the second 7 days after the first release. Cut trichocards into 40 strips, each having approximately 1000 parasitized eggs. Staple these strips uniformly on the underside of the central whorl leave in evening hours. These tricho-cards are available at the Biocontrol Labs, Department of Entomology, PAU, Ludhiana and Regional Stations, Abohar, Gurdaspur, and Bathinda.
• Spray the crop 2-3 weeks after sowing as soon as borer injury to the leaves is noticed with 30 ml Coragen 18.5 SC (chlorantraniliprole) using 60 liters of water per acre with a knap-sack sprayer.