The Head of the Department of Entomology of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Dr Balwinder Singh informed that now-a-days, incidence of hairy caterpillar is being recorded at various places of the Punjab state. The body of caterpillar is covered with hairs, he said, adding that the caterpillar eats the green matter of leaves, leaving behind only the midribs. The crop may be totally denuded due to severe attack, he cautioned. “When young, they feed gregariously but on few plants in scattered spots. Young larvae are gregarious and can be destroyed by ploughing out the infested plants and burying them underground,” told Dr Singh. The grown up caterpillars can be destroyed by crushing them under feet or by picking and putting them into kerosenized water, he advised. If the population is high, control it by spraying 500 ml of Ekalux 25EC (Quinalphos) or 200 ml Nuvan 100 (Dichlorvos) in 80-100 litre of water with manually operated knapsack sprayer per acre, he suggested.
