Common crops affected
- Cotton
- Okra
What is it?
Pink bollworm larvae hatch on or near bolls and tunnel inside, where they are shielded from contact products — making egg-hatch timing and sanitation essential. It is one of cotton's most historically damaging pests worldwide.
How to identify it
- Small entry holes in bolls, often hard to see, with internal tunnelling and damaged seeds/lint.
- Pink-banded larvae inside bolls; 'rosetted' (failed-to-open) blooms.
- Stained or cut lint and reduced seed set on cutting bolls open.
- Pheromone-trap catches of adult moths signalling flights.
Life cycle & spread
Several generations per season; larvae overwinter in bolls, seeds and debris. Moths lay eggs on bolls and tender growth, and larvae bore in within days of hatch.
Conditions that favour it
Warm seasons, late-maturing and continuous cotton, and carry-over in gin trash/debris sustain pressure.
Damage and how it spreads
Boll boring destroys seeds and stains/cuts lint, lowering yield and downgrading fibre; entry wounds also admit boll rots.
Monitoring & scouting
Use pheromone traps to time flights and set spray timing; inspect bolls for entries and rosetted blooms; treat at egg-hatch.
How to control it
- Time applications to egg-hatch before larvae enter bolls;
- practise field sanitation and timely crop termination/stalk destruction to cut carry-over;
- rotate modes of action.
Recommended Vegalab solution: Larva Control
Larva Control — natural broad-spectrum larvicide (oxymatrine) applied at egg-hatch, targeting young larvae on bolls and tender growth before they bore in.
| Role | Product | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Primary control | Larva Control |
Preventing it next season
Pheromone monitoring, timely crop termination and stalk/debris destruction, and treating young larvae before boll entry.
Claims and product availability vary by jurisdiction. Always read and follow the product label.