Pigeon Pea Pod Fly
Melanagromyza obtusa
📖 Description
Pigeon Pea Pod Fly is the most damaging pest of pigeon pea (arhar/tur) across the Indian subcontinent, causing 30-60% yield loss. Adult female flies puncture young pods with their ovipositor and lay eggs inside. Newly hatched maggots feed on developing seeds, creating tunnels and filling pods with frass. Damaged seeds become shriveled and unmarketable. The pest is particularly damaging to medium and late-maturing varieties, which are exposed to peak fly activity during pod development. Early-maturing varieties that escape the peak activity period are the foundation of management. Insecticide timing is critical — sprays must be applied at pod initiation before maggots enter pods, as internal feeding protects them from contact insecticides.
⚠️ Symptoms to watch for
- Bore holes on pods
- tunnels inside pods
- damaged and shriveled seeds
- frass inside pods
- premature pod yellowing
- yield loss 30-60% in late-maturing varieties
🩹 Treatment
- Spray neem oil 5ml/L at pod initiation
- release Opius parasitoids
- apply recommended insecticides at pod initiation stage
- grow early-maturing varieties
- practice crop rotation
🌿 Organic treatments
- Spray neem oil 5 ml/L at pod initiation
- apply 5% NSKE
- release Opius spp. and Eurytoma parasitoids @ 5000/ha
- apply Bacillus thuringiensis
- install yellow sticky traps @ 10/ha
- grow early-maturing varieties to escape damage
🧪 Chemical treatments
- Imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 0.3 ml/L at pod initiation
- Triazophos 40 EC @ 1.5 ml/L
- Lambda-cyhalothrin 5 EC @ 1 ml/L
- Spinosad 45 SC @ 0.5 ml/L
- Acephate 75 SP @ 1 g/L (apply at pod initiation and repeat 15 days later)
🛡️ Prevention
- Plant early-maturing varieties (UPAS 120, Manak) to escape peak fly activity
- synchronize planting
- practice crop rotation with non-hosts
- remove and destroy infested pods
- install yellow sticky traps early
- conserve parasitoids (Opius, Eurytoma)
- avoid continuous pigeon pea cultivation
- harvest promptly at maturity
🪴 Affected plants
- Pigeon Pea (Arhar/Tur)
- Other Cajanus Species
- Occasionally Other Pulses
🦋 Natural predators
- Opius spp.
- Eurytoma spp.
- Spiders
- Predatory Bugs
- Ants
🌱 Host plants
- Cajanus cajan
- Cajanus scarabaeoides
🔄 Lifecycle
- Female lays 20-80 eggs inside young pods by puncturing the pod wall.
- Eggs hatch in 2-4 days.
- Maggots feed inside pods for 8-14 days, passing through 3 instars.
- Pupation occurs inside or outside the pod, lasting 7-12 days.
- Adults live 7-15 days.
- Total life cycle 17-30 days; 5-7 overlapping generations per year.
📅 Season
- Active Sep-Mar during Kharif-Rabi pigeon pea, peaks Oct-Dec during pod development
🔎 Appearance
- Tiny, glossy black flies with transparent wings.
- Larvae are yellowish-white maggots that bore inside pigeon pea pods, growing up to 4 mm.
- Pupae are small and brownish, found inside or outside the pod.
💥 Damage level
- High
🔁 Reproduction rate
- Fast
🗺️ Geographic regions
- Indian Subcontinent
- Southeast Asia
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