FACTSHEETS FOR FARMERS
www.plantwise.org
Created in
Pakistan
,
December
2012
Dusky Cotton Bug
Recognize the problem
Though the bug sucks cell sap from leaves, flowers and growing soft tissues of
upper stem, the main damage is when they get crushed at the time of ginning,
thus staining the lint and decreasing the market value of the cotton. The bugs
suck the sap in groups from the immature seed which consequently do not
ripen and remain light weight. The bugs also cause nuisance to workers during
picking.
The adults are about half the size of a fingernail and are dark brown in colour.
The winged adults have dirty white semi-transparent wings and the young are
round. The eggs, laid on the lint of half opened bolls of cotton, are white and
cigar shaped. They are laid in clusters of
3-18
.
Background
The dusky cotton bug used to be a minor pest of cotton but its importance has
grown in the last few years, as populations are becoming larger. A number of
generations throughout the year have been observed. Dusky cotton bugs also
live on other plants, such as okra.
Management
•
The easiest control is to remove alternate host plants like okra etc.
before and near the main crop
•
Collect the adults and nymphs by shaking the bolls into vessels with
kerosinised water
•
Spray chlorpyriphos @ 1000ml per 100 litres of water
Scientific name(s)
>
Oxycarenus hyalinipennis
The recommendations in this factsheet are relevant to
:
Pakistan
Authors
:
Syed Ismat Hussain
Department of Pest Warning & Quality Control of Pesticides
tel:
+92-0321-6829583
email:ismatsyed@gmail.com
Edited by
Plantwise
Plantwise is a global initiative led by CABI
PK009En
Lose Less, Feed More
Dusky cotton bug.
(Photo by Dani
Barchana, via Bugwood, CC BY-NC)
When using a pesticide, always wear protective clothing and follow the instructions on the product label, such
as dosage, timing of application, and pre-harvest interval.
