Popular Article Insect Pests of Okra and Their Management S. C. Kedar 1* , K. M. Kumaranag 2 , D. S. Bhujbal 3 and N. H. Thodsare 4 1&2 Department of Entomology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana) 3 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, VN Marathwada Agricultural University, Aurangabad (Maharashtra) 4 Department of Entomology, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, (Uttrakhand) *Email of corresponding author: santoshkedar56@yahoo.com Introduction Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), also known as lady’s finger or bhendi, belongs to family Malvaceae and is an important vegetable crop grown throughout the year. Besides India, it is grown in many tropical and subtropical parts of the world. Tender fruits are used as vegetables or in culinary preparations as sliced and dried pieces. It is also used for thickening gravies and soups, because of its high mucilage content. Matured fruits and stems containing crude fibre are used in paper industry. It has good nutritional value, particularly the high content of vitamin A, potassium, calcium, iron and other minerals like magnesium, sodium and phosphorus, vitamins B and C, fats and carbohydrates. India grows okra on about 4.52 lakh hectares with an annual production of 48.03 lakh tons and productivity of 10.61 t/ha. The productivity of our country is low compared to other countries due to yield losses caused by insect pests, diseases and nematodes. The crop is attacked by more than 72 insect pests and infests the crop from seedling to harvest stage. The shoot and fruit borer (Earias vittella), fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera), leaf roller (Sylepta derogata), leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula biguttula), whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), aphid (Aphis gossypii), solenopsis mealy bug (Phenacoccus solenopsis), dusky cotton bug (Oxycarenus hyalinipennis), red cotton bug (Dysdercus koenigii), red spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) and root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) are some of important pests which cause damage in okra crop. 1. Shoot and fruit borer (Earias vittella) Identification: The E. vittella moths measure about 2.5 cm across the wings and have a narrow light longitudinal green band in the middle of forewing. The full grown dull-green caterpillars are 2 cm long having tiny stout bristles and a series of longitudinal black spots on the body. Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), is an important vegetable crop grown throughout the year in India. The crop is attacked by number of pests of which shoot and fruit borer, leafhopper, whitefly, red spider mite, solenopsis mealy bug and root-knot nematode are most serious causing substantial reduction in crop growth and yield. In the present document the identification, life-history, nature of damage, management and various IPM practices have been discussed to save the crop from pests’ damage. Popular Kheti Volume -2, Issue-3 (July-September), 2014 Available online at www.popularkheti.info © 2014 popularkheti.info ISSN: 2321-0001 Popular Kheti ISSN: 2321-0001 112