Pacific Pests & Pathogens - Mini Fact Sheet EditionBele (Abelmoschus) shoot borer (023)
Pacific Pests & Pathogens - Mini Fact Sheet EditionBele (Abelmoschus) shoot borer (023)
Summary
- Worldwide distribution. On bele (aibika, sliperi kabis, island cabbage, Abelmoschus manihot), okra, ornamental Hibiscus, and tomato.
- Eggs laid singly; larvae hatch, bore into young stems and cause wilts.
- Natural enemies: lacewings, lady beetles, parasitoid wasps.
- Cultural control: grow crops during wet season when populations are lower; prune stems several cms below entry holes; after last harvest, pull out and burn the plants.
- Chemical control: PDPs (with soap): chilli, derris, pyrethrum, or neem; use biopesticides, e.g., Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), or spinosad, but best to spray young larvae; use synthetic pyrethroids, but more likely to kill natural enemies.
Common Name
Bele shoot borer, spotted bollworm, spiny bollworm
Scientific Name
Earias vittella
AUTHORS Grahame Jackson, Mani Mua & Helen Tsatsia
Photos 4&5 Graham Teakle, Canberra.
Produced with support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research under project PC/2010/090: Strengthening integrated crop management research in the Pacific Islands in support of sustainable intensification of high-value crop production, implemented by the University of Queensland and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
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