ABSTRACT

Cutworms are cosmopolitan pests that attack several crops. A total of 26 species are known to occur in India, of which the most preponderant species are Agrotis ipsilon, Agrotis flammatra and Agrotis segetum. The biology of these three species has been studied and they are known to complete their life cycle in 35 to 77 days. The larvae of A. ipsilon and A. flammatra are slightly longer as compared to those of A. segetum. The cutworms cause most damage at the seedling stage; early attempts to control cutworms should focus on cultural control. The important parasitoids of A. ipsilon and A. segetum are Macrocentrus collaris, Periscepsia carbonaria and Cotesia ruficrus. As cutworms hide in the soil during the day, poison baits can serve as effective control measure. Efficient chemical control can be achieved by properly applying chemicals when young caterpillars are still on the leaves and therefore vulnerable. Entomopathogenic nematodes like Steinernema carpocapsae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora hold considerable potential to control cutworms, but their effectiveness is related to soil moisture.

摘要

地老虎是世界性的害虫，会攻击几种作物。已知印度共有 26 种物种，其中最主要的物种是Agrotis ipsilon、Agrotis flammatra和Agrotis segetum。已经研究了这三个物种的生物学，已知它们在 35 到 77 天内完成其生命周期。A. ipsilon和A. flammatra的幼虫比A. segetum的幼虫稍长。地老虎在幼苗阶段造成的损害最大；控制地老虎的早期尝试应侧重于文化控制。A. ipsilon和A. segetum的重要寄生蜂是Macrocentrus collis 、Periscepsia carbonaria和Cotesia ruficrus。由于地老虎白天隐藏在土壤中，毒饵可以作为有效的控制措施。当幼虫仍在叶子上并因此很脆弱时，可以通过适当地施用化学物质来实现有效的化学防治。昆虫病原线虫如Steinernema carpocapsae和Heterorhabditis bacteriophora在控制地老虎方面具有相当大的潜力，但它们的有效性与土壤湿度有关。