The shoot and fruit borer is extremely harmful to brinjal (aubergine). It attacks young shoots, which lose their freshness and become misshapen. Infested brinjals even taste bitter when cooked, and a severe attack can kill the whole plant. The pest attacks from planting until harvest. It has various local names, such as almara, dogabhanga and fruit borer.

The adult is a moth that flies in the last hours of the night, so it is not easy to see. The moth lays eggs on young shoots. The larvae that hatch wander over the shoot, then bore into shoots and fruit to feed, which is why the shoots wilt. When fully grown, the larvae bore their way out of the shoots and fruit, drop to the soil and form cocoons among dry fallen leaves. Adult moths emerge from these cocoons, and females mate with males to lay eggs. A single moth lays up to 250 eggs in its lifetime.

There are several ways to control the brinjal shoot and fruit borer:

• Use quality seed.
• Make sure the seed carries no disease or anything harmful.
• Inspect the field at least twice a day, because things can change very quickly.
• Remove the older leaves from the lower part of the plant.
• Remove and burn fallen leaves so the pest cannot form cocoons.
• Check regularly for infested plants.
• Watch carefully for any shoots that are drying out.
• Cut off infested shoots, flowers or fruit with a sharp knife, remove them and bury them in the soil.
• Do not dump infested material near the field, as new moths can emerge from it.
• A net fence around the field can stop moths getting in.
• Use a net with half-centimetre holes, 3 metres high.
• The holes must be small to keep the moths out. The moth cannot fly above 3 metres.
• Use white nylon net, which does not shade the crop.
• The net also stops birds damaging the brinjal flowers and young fruit.
• Before sunrise, very early in the morning, the moths fly about laying eggs on the young shoots.
• Very early in the morning, look for flying moths and kill them by beating with a broom.
• You can use pheromone traps in the field. Different insects have different smells, or pheromones.
• You can buy various insect traps from a local agricultural dealer.
• Make sure you have bought the right trap for killing this moth.
• Tell the dealer you want a trap for brinjal shoot and fruit borer.
• The moths are caught in detergent water at the bottom of the trap.
• Set pheromone traps 10–12 metres apart.
• Check the traps every day, and refill or change the detergent water when needed.
• Replace the pheromone lure every 40 days after setting the trap.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.