Infestation and management of banana pseudostem borer, Odoiporus longicollis Oliver

The pseudostem borer, Odoiporus longicollis is a serious pest causing heavy losses to the banana growers. To manage the pest farmers rely on chemical insecticides even after bunch formation. Since the whole banana plant is edible in one way or the other for consumption, the usage of persistent insecticides will lead to residues. Therefore, studies were undertaken to assess the level of infestation by pseudostem borer in banana and to evaluate the botanical, neem formulation against banana pseudostem borer. Among the ten banana varieties screened for the infestation of pseudostem borer, the severity was maximum in Nendran (31.69%) followed by Red banana (19.07%). The pseudostem borer was recorded as a major pest in the banana varieties viz., Nendran, Red banana, Matti, and Palayamkottan (>10%) and a minor pest in the banana varieties viz., Robusta, Rasakathali, and Ney poovan (1-5%). The occurrence of O. longicollis was not observed in Karpooravalli, Monthan, and Peyan. According to the level of infestation, the banana varieties viz., Nendran and Red banana were found to be highly susceptible to O. longicollis and among them, nendran is best for trapping banana pseudostem borer and can be used as pseudostem traps. Application of azadirachtin 10000 ppm at 4 ml/l thrice at 5th, 6th, and 7th months after planting showed 55.57 and 59.35 per cent reduction of pseudostem borer over untreated check in nendran and red banana, respectively, and can be used for safe management of banana pseudostem borer.