Agriculture experts have advised the owners of pomegranate orchards to save their crop from fruit fly attack during rainy season.
In a press release issued by media liaison unit of Punjab agriculture department here on Thursday, experts said that farmers should complete harvesting in time and take all precautionary and curative measures to keep the fruit safe from pest attack.
They said that fruit fly hurt the fruit the most because the female adult fruit fly pierces into it and lay eggs inside its skin. The pupae then come out of the eggs and eat the fruit from inside and thus rotten it.
They advised farmers to utilize light trap i.e pesticides-laced lanterns that attract the pests by virtue of the light and the pesticides kill them when they land on it.
About chemical treatment, they said that growers can apply spray of water mixture of Trycholorofan
80WP at the rate of 2.5 gram per liter of water.
White fly also affects the pomegranate by excreting hazardous substances on the leaf that affects the photosynthesis process (the process of food preparation for the plant).
Pomegranate butterfly also pierces into the fruit and eat it from inside besides inviting fungus and bacterial attack. The fruit affected by pomegranate butterfly must be buried to kill the pests.
Scales also suck juice from the leaf, branches and fruit and leave branches dry in case of intense attack besides inviting black fungus.
Growers should apply suitable spray in consultation with agriculture officials after noticing pest attack, they added.
