Symptoms of damage:

• The early instar larvae feed gregariously on the under surface of the leaf leading to skeletonization of the leaves
• Sometimes the feeding is so heavy that only petioles and branches are left behind. In case of severe attack cause complete defoliation

Identification of the pest:

• Egg: Egg masses appear golden brown
• Larva: Pale greenish with dark markings, gregarious in the early stages
• Adult: Forewings are brown colour with wavy white markings, Hind wings- white colour with a brown patch along the margin

Management:

• Collect and destroy the egg masses and caterpillars in the early stages of infestation
• Plough the field so as to expose the pupae to predators and parasitoids
• Monitoring the pest with pheromone traps (4-5/acre) helps in timely treatment
• To control early stage larvae, spray neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) 5% or chlorpyriphos 2.5ml 2ml or quinolphos 2ml or neem oil 5ml/ litre of water
• As the grown up larvae move down to soil to hide during day time, poison bait (10kg of rice bran+1 kg jaggery+1 litre of water to make the bait in to pellets for one hectare) placement at base of the plants helps in killing the larvae