Fruit borer is a serious pest of apple ber which belongs to the family Carposinidae. The moth lays their egg on fruit and upon hatching the newly emerged caterpillars bore into the fruits and damage the pulp nearby seeds.
Scientific Name –Meridarchis scyrodes
Life Cycle-
- Female lays an average of 10-15 eggs and incubation varies from 4-5 days. The larval and pupal stages completed in 14-18 and 8-9 days, respectively.
- Adult fly is small dark brown in colour with fringed wings. Early instar larva is light yellowish and full-grown larva is red in colour.
- Adult male and female lives for around 3-4 and 4-5 days, respectively.
How does Fruit borer damage?
- The pest causes up to 70% yield loss under severe infestation. The moths lay eggs on fruits at pea stage and upon hatching the newly emerged caterpillars bore into fruits and feed on the pulp near seed and accumulate faecal.
- The first and second instar larvae feed on the fruit superficially but third to fifth instar larvae feed internally and damage the pulp around the seed. At initial stages of fruit development, the full grown larvae were found to feed on soft immature seed.
How to manage Fruit Borer?
| Cultural Methods | Chemical Control |
| Collect and destroy the infected fruits regularly. Harvesting of fruits at immediate after maturity (green stage).Removal of wild ber trees around the ber orchard. Rack the soil under the tree or near the trees to destroy the maggots and pupae present in the soil. | Foliar Spray: Spinosad 45% EC @0.4 ml/litre. Emamectin Benzoate 5% SG @1 gm/litre.Imidachloropid 17.8% SL @0.5 ml/litre. Fenitrothion 50 EC @2 ml/litre. |
References: –
- https://krishi.icar.gov.in/jspui/bitstream/123456789/5658/1/Ber%20Pest%20Tech%20Bulletin.pdf
- https://ppqs.gov.in/sites/default/files/ber.pdf
- https://vikaspedia.in/agriculture/crop-production/integrated-pest-managment/ipm-for-fruit-crops/ipm-strategies-for-ber/ber-insect-and-mite-pests
