| Sign of Attack/ Symptom |
Control |
| Insect-pests |
|
|
Pyrilla : It is a serious pest and causes losses
in cane yield and sugar recovery. The pest appears in August -September. |
Spray the crop with 1 L malathion (Cythion 50 EC) or 1 L
endosulfan (Thiodan 35 EC) or 600 ml fenitrothion
(Folithion/Sumithion 50 EC) in 1000 L water per ha. |
| Termites : The attack is from April-June and
again in October. They destroy the germinating
buds. |
1. Apply well rotton FYM
2. Remove the stubbles and debris of the previous crop
from the field.
3. At the time of planting, apply 2 L chloropyriphos 20 EC
mixed with 25 kg of sand per ha in furrows on setts. |
|
Early shoot borer : The pest attacks from April-
June and produces dead hearts. |
1. Plant the crop early i.e before mid March.
2. The chemical control is the same as for termites. |
| Top borer : The pest attacks from March-
October and is very serious during July-August.
Larvae feed to tender leaves within the whorl
and damage the growing points which turn dark.
The other signs of attacks are shot holes in
leaves, white or red streaks on the upperside of
the mid rib and bunchy tops from July onwards. |
1. Collect and destroy its moth and egg clusters.
2. Apply 30 kg granules of carbofuran (Furadan 3 G) or
phorate (Thimet 10 G) at the base of the shoots in the last
week of June or first week of July. Mix well in the soil so as to
avoid flowing of granules with the irrigation water and irrigate
the crop immediately. This will control the third brood of top
borer which causes the maximum damage. |
Diseases |
|
Smut : The affected canes produce long whiplike
shoots. Smutted shoots may also arise from
lateral buds. |
1. Rogue out the entire diseased clumps and destroy after
carefully removing the smutted whips.
2. Use disease-free seed.
3. Plant resistant varieties.
|
| Red rot : The rind losses its bright colour and
shrinks. About this time the upper leaves turn
pale, wither at the tips and along the margins.
When the affected stems are split open, the
diseased tissues show reddening with
transverse white blotches and they emit an
alcoholic smell. |
1. Rogue out entire diseased clumps and burn.
2. Setts for sowing should be procured from disease free
areas.
3. Burn all trash after crop harvest.
4. Avoid flooding.
5. Sow resistant varieties. |
In addition, seed potato is also main cash crop in the upper Shimla hills of the Pradesh in Kharif season.
This is due to the fact of the natural advantages the State enjoys in respect of potato seed production. The detail
of seed potato cultivation is given in the chapter of Crops for Dry Temperate Zone.