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Pest Management Decision Guide
23 June 2016

Webworm on cabbage-Ghana: Hellula undalis;

Pictures

Webworm larvae and damage on cabbage leaf (Judy Baxter, www.flickr.com)
Cabbage webworm adult (Ben Sale, www.flickr.com)

Prevention

Disposal of crop residues; uproot and burn cabbage stalks after harvest
Crop rotation or intercropping with non-host crops (e.g mustard, onion, carrot) to reduce field populations of webworm
Avoid use of chemical insecticides to help conserve natural enemies of the cabbage webworm including spiders, parasitic wasps, lacewings, praying mantis, ants, and birds
Till soil to remove cabbage stubbles and and dispose out of field before planting

Monitoring

Additional relevant crops: okro, eggplant
Field monitoring should begin 2 weeks after planting tomato.
Inspect plants for egg masses, eggs are usually laid in plant buds, which upon hatching, the larvae feed on the underside of the leaves and cover themselves with webs, which become covered with dirt and excrement.
Check plants for adults and caterpillars twice a week once seedling emergence begins, when populations appear to be increasing, check more often
Normally, spraying should occur when there is more than 1 caterpillar per 5 plants.

Direct Control

Hand pick and destroy caterpilars on the undersides of leaves at initial (lower) infestations
Cutworm populations can be reduced by plowing under weeds at least one month prior to planting
Use botanical pesticide (e.g. fresh neem, lemongrass, ginger) 1 litre/15 litres of water
Use Spinosad bait spray, the maximum amount that can be used per crop is 0.45 lb ai/A at 2 day PHI

Restrictions

When using a pesticide or botanical, always wear protective clothing and follow the instructions on the product label.
Do not use chemicals with the same mode of action year after year as this can lead to resistance, always consult the most recent list of registered pesticides of MOFA, Ghana

Direct Control

Spray with Abamectin benzoate product ( eg Control 5% WDG, Protect 1.9 EC ) at the rate of 0.5 ml/l water, Avermectin family group

WHO class II (moderately hazardous) Yellow colour band; REI- when spray dries; PHI-3 days.

Spray with Imidacloprid product (eg Consider super 200 SL) at 200g/l

WHO class II (moderately hazardous). Contact systemic pesticide, PHI-3 days

Spray with Lambda-cyhalothrin product (eg. Frankocylon 2.5 EC, Karate 5 EC, K-Lambda 2.5 EC, Lambdacot EC, K-Optimal EC) at rate of 20-50g/l

WHO class II (moderately hazardous) Yellow colour band; REI- when spray dries; PHI-3 days.

Indexing Terms

Descriptors

  1. arthropod pests
  2. aubergines
  3. biological control
  4. biological control agents
  5. botanical insecticides
  6. burning
  7. cabbages
  8. chemical control
  9. control
  10. cultural control
  11. extension
  12. imidacloprid
  13. insect control
  14. insect pests
  15. insecticides
  16. intercropping
  17. lambda-cyhalothrin
  18. monitoring
  19. natural enemies
  20. nicotinoid insecticides
  21. okras
  22. parasites
  23. parasitoids
  24. pest control
  25. pest management
  26. pesticides
  27. pests
  28. physical control
  29. plant pests
  30. ploughing
  31. predators
  32. predatory arthropods
  33. predatory birds
  34. predatory insects
  35. rotations
  36. spinosad
  37. tillage
  38. weed control
  39. weeds

Organism Descriptors

  1. Abelmoschus
  2. Abelmoschus esculentus
  3. Araneae
  4. arthropods
  5. birds
  6. Brassica
  7. Brassica oleracea
  8. Brassica oleracea var. capitata
  9. Chrysopidae
  10. Formicidae
  11. Hellula
  12. Hellula undalis
  13. Hymenoptera
  14. insects
  15. Mantis
  16. Mantodea
  17. plants
  18. Solanum
  19. Solanum melongena

Identifiers

  1. climate smart agriculture
  2. ants
  3. bhindi
  4. biocontrol agents
  5. biological control organisms
  6. birds of prey
  7. egg plant
  8. eggplants
  9. lacewings
  10. okro
  11. pest arthropods
  12. pest insects
  13. pest management decision guides
  14. plowing
  15. praying mantis
  16. predaceous arthropods
  17. predaceous insects
  18. predacious arthropods
  19. predacious insects
  20. raptors
  21. spiders
  22. wasps
  23. webworm
  24. ladies fingers
  25. brinjal
  26. biocontrol
  27. flaming
  28. advisory services
  29. extension activities
  30. neonicotinoids
  31. neonics
  32. crop rotation
  33. rotational cropping
  34. soil cultivation
  35. subsaharan Africa

Geographical Locations

  1. Africa South of Sahara
  2. Ghana

Broader Terms

  1. Malvaceae
  2. Malvales
  3. eudicots
  4. angiosperms
  5. Spermatophyta
  6. plants
  7. eukaryotes
  8. Abelmoschus
  9. Arachnida
  10. arthropods
  11. invertebrates
  12. animals
  13. vertebrates
  14. Chordata
  15. Brassicaceae
  16. Brassicales
  17. Brassica
  18. Brassica oleracea
  19. Neuroptera
  20. insects
  21. Hexapoda
  22. Hymenoptera
  23. Pyralidae
  24. Lepidoptera
  25. Hellula
  26. Mantidae
  27. Mantodea
  28. Dictyoptera
  29. Solanaceae
  30. Solanales
  31. Solanum
  32. Africa
  33. ACP Countries
  34. Anglophone Africa
  35. Commonwealth of Nations
  36. lower-middle income countries
  37. medium Human Development Index countries
  38. West Africa
  39. Africa South of Sahara

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

cover image PlantwisePlus Knowledge Bank
Pest Management Decision Guides
Pest Management Decision Guide: Green and Yellow List

Applicable geographic locations

Africa,  Ghana

History

Issue publication date: 1 January 2015
Published online: 23 June 2016

Language

English

Authors

Affiliations

B. K. Badii
University for Development Studies Tamale Ghana

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