Pink Bollworm

• Pink bollworm – responsible for damaging nearly 4 lakh acre of cotton in 2021 – has been observed in certain fields within Bathinda and Mansa districts of Punjab .

ABOUT PINK BOLLWORM (PECTINOPHORA GOSSYPIELLA)

• It is one of the most destructive pests of cotton.
• Originally native to India, it is now recorded in nearly all the cotton-growing countries of the world.
• Adults only last for 2 weeks, but females will lay 200 or more eggs.
• Adults lay eggs on cotton bolls; once hatched, the larvae eat the seeds and damage the fibres of the cotton, reducing the yield and quality.
• It has also been observed to attack hibiscus, okra, and hollyhock plants.