Present Status of Field Pests of Sorghum and Millets in India

Abstract

The incidence, economic importance, ecology, biology and control measures are described in brief for common pests of sorghum and millets in India. At present, shoot flies, stem borers, earhead midges, birds and rats are considered major pests. However formerly occasional or minor pests are becoming a menace in some states due to changes in cultural practices. For most of the recently recorded pests, information on factors responsible for their outbreak, bionomics, yield losses etc. is needed before planning the control operations. As an immediate remedy, chemicals have been used extensively, mainly on high yielding varieties and hybrids of sorghums. It is emphasized that studies should be intensified on varietal resistance, mass rearing techniques, predators and parasites and manipulation of population by cultural practices leading to the possibility of using all available methods on an integrated basis for future pest management programmes for sorghum and millets.