| Management |
Activity |
Pre sowing*
|
|
Common cultural practices:
• Deep ploughing of fields during summer
• After summer ploughing field is left for solarization.
• Timely sowing should be done
• Field sanitation, rogueing
• Destroy the alternate host plants
• Apply manures and fertilizers as per soil test recommendations
• Sow the ecological engineering plants
• Rotate the crop with a non host crop
• Sow / plant sorghum/maize/bajra in 4 rows all around castor crop as a guard/barrier crop.
|
| Nutrients |
• Deep summer ploughing to break hard pan and to facilitate rain water absorption & deep root penetration.
• Nutrients should be applied based on the soil test report and recommendations for the particular agro-climatic zone.
• Use well decomposed FYM @ 4-5 t/acre or Vermicompost @ 2.0 t/acre or castor cake @ 0.4 t/ acre treated with Trichoderma at the time of last ploughing.
• Apply Vermicompost and FYM at 1 week and 3-4 weeks before sowing, respectively.
• Do not leave FYM or compost exposed to sunlight as nutrients may be lost.
• Apply 12 Kg sulphur/acre through gypsum at the time of last ploughing for higher castor yield.
|
| Weeds |
• Summer ploughing should be done to expose and destroy weed seeds/ rhizomes by soil solarization.
• At the time of field preparation, adopt stale seed bed technique i.e. pre sowing irrigation followed by shallow tillage to minimize the weeds menace in field.
• Black plastic mulch prevents entry of light, which restricts germination of weed seeds and growth.
|
| Soil borne pathogens, nematodes, resting stages of insects |
Cultural control:
• Deep summer ploughing of fields to control resting stages of insect pests.
• Avoid excessive watering and provide proper drainage in the field.
• Practice green manuring and intercropping with red gram for the control of root rot.
Biological control:
• Apply neem cake @ 100 Kg/acre at the time of transplanting for reducing capsule borer damage
|
Seed sowing*
|
|
Common cultural practices:
• Use resistant/tolerant varieties.
• Use healthy, certified and weed seed free seeds.
|
| Nutrients |
• Before sowing, soil testing should be done to find out the soil fertility status. Nutrient should be provided as per soil test recommendations.
• Biofertilizers: Seed/seedling treatment should be done with Azotobactor/Azospirillum and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria (PSB) @ 250 g each /acre seed/seedlings and VAM inoculum @ 1Kg /acre.
• Apply 1/ 3 of N and full dose of P & K as basal at the time of sowing
|
| Weeds |
• Line sowing should be done to facilitate inter-culture operations.
• Plant population should be maintained to its optimum right from beginning to minimize the crop weed competition.
• Intercropping with short duration pulse crops such as moong bean should be done to suppress weeds between rows.
|
Vegetative stage
|
|
Common cultural practices:
• Collect and destroy crop debris
• Provide irrigation at critical stages of the crop
• Avoid water logging
• Avoid water stress during flowering stage
• Judicious use of fertilizers
• Enhance parasitic activity by avoiding chemical spray, when 1-2 larval parasitoids are observed
Common mechanical practices:
• Collect and destroy disease infected and insect infested plant parts
• Collection and destruction of eggs and early stage larvae
• Handpick the older larvae during early stages
• The infested shoots and seed capsules may be collected and destroyed
• Handpick the gregarious caterpillars and the cocoons which are found on stem and destroy them in kerosene mixed water.
• Use yellow sticky traps @ 4-5 trap/acre
• Use light trap @ 1/acre and operate between 6 pm and 10 pm
• Install pheromone traps @ 4-5/acre for monitoring adult moths activity (replace the lures with fresh lures after every 2-3 weeks)
• Erecting of bird perches @ 20/acre for encouraging predatory birds such as King crow, common mynah etc.
• Set up bonfire during evening hours at 7-8 pm
Common biological practices:
• Conserve natural enemies through ecological engineering
• Augmentative release of natural enemies
|
| Nutrients |
• Apply 1/3rd of N as top dressing at first flower initiation state at 35 to 40 days after sowing and remaining 1/3rd at 65 to 70 days after sowing depending on rainfall or along with irrigation. |
| Weeds |
• First hoeing should be done at 3 weeks after germination followed by second hoeing at initiation of first spike.
• The crop should be maintained weed free initially for 6-8 weeks by following timely hoeing and weeding.
• Mulches like straw hay, plastic, etc. can be used in between the rows to suppress the weed growth.
|
| Castor semilooper |
Cultural control:
• Intercropping with cluster bean, cowpea, black gram, or groundnut (1: 2 ratio proportions) reduces semilooper infestation and builds up natural enemies (Microplitis, coccinellids, and spiders) population
Biological control:
• Release egg parasitoid, Trichogramma minutum @ 1,00,000/acre
• Spray neem seed kernal extract (NSKE) 4% synchronising with egg oviposition and early larval stages.
• Spray Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki @ 400 g in 200-300 l of water/acre
Chemical control:
• Spray malathion 50% EC @ 800 ml in 200-400 l of water/acre or dimethoate 30% EC @ 462 ml in 200-400 l of water/acre
|
| Tobacco caterpillar |
Biological control:
• Release egg parasitoid, Trichogramma pretiosum @ 20,000/acre/week four times.
• Spray NSKE 5% against eggs and fi rst instar larva or azadirachtin 5% W/W neem extract concentrate @ 80 g in 160 l of water/acre
• Apply entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) @ 2,50,000 infective juveniles of Steinernema feltiae/sq mt area
|
| Red headed hairy caterpillar** |
Cultural control:
• Sowing the trap crop cucumber or cowpea before sowing the main crop all along the field borders attract the migrating caterpillars and facilitate mechanical killing of the larvae by jerking them off into kerosinised water.
• Digging trench around the field and killing the trapped larvae
Mechanical control:
• Set light traps (mercury lamp of 250 watts) immediately after first rain and continued for 30-40 days in large areas on community basis and kill trapped moths
• Place twigs of Jatropha, Ipomoea or Calotropis on the fi eld borders to attract the migrating caterpillars and kill the feeding larvae mechanically
Biological control:
• Spray Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki @ 400 g in 200-300 l of water/acre
Chemical control:
• Spray dichlorvos 76% EC @ 313.2 ml in 200-400 l of water/acre or dimethoate 30% EC @ 462 ml in 200-400 l of water/acre.
|
| Shoot and capsule borer |
Cultural control:
• Intercropping with cluster bean, cowpea, black gram, or groundnut (1: 2 ratio proportions) reduces shoot and capsule borer infestation and builds up natural enemies (Microplitis, coccinellids, spiders etc.) population
• The infested shoots and seed capsules may be collected and destroyed
Chemical control:
• Apply trichlorofon 5% Gr @ 8,000 g/acre or trichlorofon 5% Dust @ 8,000 g/acre
|
| Whitefly** |
Cultural control:
• Peppermint can be used as repellant plant for white fly.
• Plant okra as a trap crop
Biological control:
• Spray NSKE 5%
• Spray neem oil @ 5 ml/l on the under surface of the leaf
|
| Jassid** |
Cultural control:
Intercropping with cluster bean, cowpea, black gram, or groundnut (1: 2 ratio proportions) reduces jassids infestation and builds up natural enemies (coccinellids, spiders etc.) population
Biological control:
• Spray NSKE 5%
• Spray azadirachtin 5% @ 0.5 ml/l
Chemical control:
• Spray dimethoate 30% EC @ 330 ml in 200-400 l of water/acre or malathion 50% EC @ 600 ml in 200-400 l of water/acre
|
| Bihar hairy caterpillar** |
Biological control:
• Spray NSKE 5% to kill early stage larvae.
• Spray Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki @ 400 g in 200-300 l of water/acre
Chemical control:
• Spray dichlorvos 76% EC @ 313.2 ml in 200-400 l of water/acre or dimethoate 30% EC @ 462 ml in 200-400 l of water/acre
|
| Castor slug** |
Cultural control:
• Handpick the gregarious caterpillars and the cocoons which are found on stem and destroy them in kerosene mixed water.
Biological control:
• Spray NSKE 5% or azadirachtin 5% @ 0.5 ml/l
|
| Thrips** |
Cultural control:
• Intercrop with Sesbania grandiflora to provide barrier which regulate the thrips population.
• Sprinkle water over the seedlings to check the multiplication of thrips
Biological control:
• Apply neem cake to the beds @ 100 Kg/acre in two split doses at the time of planting and 30 days after transplanting
|
| Seedling blight |
Cultural control:
• Avoid ill drained, damp and low lying place for raising castor
|
| Alternaria blight |
• Follow common cultural, mechanical and biological practices |
| Cercospora leaf spot |
• Follow common cultural, mechanical and biological practices |
| Powdery mildew |
Cultural control:
• Provide irrigation at critical stages of the crop
• Follow common cultural, mechanical and biological practices
|
| Collar rot** |
Cultural control:
• Avoid water logging
• Practice green manuring and intercropping with redgram
• Avoid water stress during flowering stage
• Follow common cultural, mechanical and biological practices
|
| Wilt |
Cultural control:
• Avoid ill drained, damp and low lying place for raising castor
• Provide good drainage
• Follow common cultural, mechanical and biological practices
|
Reproductive/maturity stage
|
| Nutrients |
• Micronutrient deficiency should be corrected by foliar spray of particular micronutrient.
• Incorporate crop residues in soil immediately after harvest.
|
| Weeds |
• Remove left over weeds from the field by one manual weeding to avoid further spread of weed seeds |
| Shoot and capsule borer |
• Remove damaged shoots
• Release T. chilonis @ 20,000/acre at weekly intervals.
• Same as in vegetative stage.
• Follow common cultural, mechanical and biological practices
|
| Castor semilooper |
• Same as in vegetative stage
• Follow common cultural, mechanical and biological practices
|
| Tobacco caterpillar |
• Same as in vegetative stage
• Follow common cultural, mechanical and biological practices
|
| Jassid** |
• Same as in vegetative stage
• Follow common cultural, mechanical and biological practices
|
Note: The pesticide dosages and spray fluid volumes are based on high volume sprayer.
* Apply Trichoderma viride/harzianum and Pseudomonas fluorescens as seed/seedling/planting material, nursery treatment and soil application (if commercial products are used, check for label claim. However, biopesticides produced by farmers for own consumption in their fields, registration is not required).
** Pests of regional significance
|
