This document lists and describes the various pests that affect cocoa plants, including sap feeders like tea mosquito bugs, mealybugs, and aphids; leaf feeders such as loopers and hairy caterpillars; borers like the red borer and castor capsule borer; and vertebrate pests including rats, squirrels, monkeys, and cattle. It provides details on the damage each pest causes and recommended management methods like spraying recommended pesticides, pruning, trapping, or using poison bait to control the pests. Pests are estimated to damage 20% of cocoa crops for jungle cats and 35% total for all vertebrate pests. Timely harvest and clean cultivation are also

1. VV

2. Pests of Cocoa
(Theobroma cacao)
SAMRAJ
2015600508

3. Sap Feeders
S.No. Common Name Scientific Name Family Order
1. Tea Mosquito Bug Helopeltis antonii Miridae Hemiptera
2. Mango Hopper Idioscopus clypealis Cicadellidae Hemiptera
3. Mango Mealy Bug Drosicha mangiferae Margarodidae Hemiptera
4. Cocoa Mealy Bug Planococcus lilacinus Pseudococcidae Hemiptera
5. Citrus Mealy Bug Planococcus citri Pseudococcidae Hemiptera
6. West African Mealy Bug Planococcoides Jalensis Pseudococcidae Hemiptera
7. Papaya Mealy Bug Paracoccus marginatus Pseudococcidae Hemiptera
Leaf Feeders
8. Brown Looper Hyposidra talaca Geometridae Lepidoptera
9. Hairy Caterpillar Pericallia ricini Arctiidae Lepidoptera
10. Bihar Hairy Caterpillar Spilosoma obliqua Arctiidae Lepidoptera
11. Hairy Caterpillar Metanastria hyrtaca Lasiocampidae Lepidoptera
12. Slug Caterpillar Parasa Lepida Limacodidae Lepidoptera
13. Ash weevils Myllocerus viridanus Curculionidae Coleoptera
14. Myllocerus maculosus Curculionidae Coleoptera
15. Leaf feeding Caterpillars Lymantria spp Lymantriidae Lepidoptera
16. Euproctis spp. Lymantriidae Lepidoptera

4. Borers
17. Red Borer Zeuzera coffeae Cossidae Lepidoptera
18. Castor Capsule Borer Conogethus Punctiferalis Pyraustidae Lepidoptera
Vertebrate Pests
19. Black Rat Rattus rattus Muridae Rodentia
20. Bandicoot Rat Bandicota spp. Muridae Rodentia
21. Western Ghats Squirrel Funambulus tristriatus Sciuridae Rodentia
22. Striped Squirrel Funambulus palmarum Sciuridae Rodentia
23. Jungle Cat Felis chaus Felidae Carnivora
24. Jackal Canis aureus Canidae Carnivora
25. Monkey Macaca radiata Cercopithicidae Primates
26. The Gaur/Indian Bison Bibos gaurus Bovidae Artiodactyla
27. Stag Cervus canis Cervidae Artiodactyla

5. Tea Mosquito Bug
Helopeltis antonii
• Feeding puncture - circular water soaked spots - turn pitch black in color -
multiple feeding injuries-Deformation of pods.
• Neem Oil 3%
• spraying - Imidacloprid (0.6 ml/lit) , Thiamethoxam (0.6g/litre),
Profenophos (2 ml/litre)

6. Mealy Bugs
Paracoccus marginatus, Planococcoides sp. , Planococcus lilacinus, P. citri
• Damage : - Shoot tip
- Buds
- Flower cushions
- Cherelles
• Summer – Spindle leaves, spathes & bunches
• Symptoms – Yellowing - Dry up : Retarded growth, excessive branching at undesired
height - Abortion – Wilting of cherelles
• Neem Oil 3% or FORS 25g/litre
• Dimethoate (2 ml/litre) , Profenophos (2 ml/litre), Chlorpyriphos (5 ml/litre), Buprofezin
(2 ml/litre), Imidacloprid (0.6 ml/lit), Thiamethoxam (0.6g/litre)

7. Flattid Plant Hoppers
• Desapping - tender shoots and pods - honey dew - sooty mould
fungus on the leaves and pods.
• Management: Foliar application of Thiacloprid @ 2 ml/litre twice at
5 days interval

8. Aphids
Toxoptera aurantii and Aphis gossypii
• colonize - underside of tender leaves, succulent stem, flower buds
and small cherelles.
• Heavy infestation - during hot summer and after rainy season -
brings premature shedding of flowers and curling of leaves.
• Management : Spraying of dimethoate @ 2 ml per litre

9. Ash weevils
Myllocerus viridanus , M. maculosus
• Feed on the older leaves – underside- interveinal tissues –
skeletonized – growth retardation.
• Peak in July-September , more severe in coconut-cocoa system.
• Fenitrothion 0.05%, Quinalphos 0.025% or Fenthion 0.05%.

10. Hairy caterpillars
(Lymantriya sp., Euproctis sp., Dasychira sp.,)
• serious leaf damage on seedlings and young trees.
• Management: Foliar spray of acephate @ 2g/litre.

11. Stem Girdler
Sthenias grisator
• Female beetle - girdles the branches and inserts whitish spindle shaped
eggs singly into the tissue in a slanting manner.
• branches above the girdle wither and dry.
• Swab Coal tar + Kerosene @ 1:2
• Injection of dichlorvas + monocrotophos solution into bore holes - Clay

12. Stem Borer
Zeuzera coffeae
• Caterpillars – Bore the young branches – unramfied hollow tunnels
inside
• Round hole on the stem – drying up – excreta, frass strewn out on the
ground.
• Prune and destroy
• Smear the affected portion with Carbaryl 0.1 %

14. Rats
Rattus rattus, Bandicota spp.
• Ripe pods - gnaw the bronzing pods near the stalk portion and
mucilaginous pulp is eaten.
• Inhabit the coconut palm crowns
• 10 g bromadiolone (0.005%) wax cakes / ripe banana stuffed with
carbofuran - branches - twice @ an interval of 10-12 days./ Frond of the
coconut
• Set up bamboo traps with bow attachment on the crown of palms.

15. The Funambulist

16. Striped Squirrels
Funambulus tristriatus , Funambulus palmarum
• Gnaw the pod- oval hole at the center or terminal portion
• trapping with wooden or wire mesh single catch ‘live’ trap with ripe
coconut kernel as the bait.
• Right time harvest – bronzing
• Mechanical protection - covering with punched polybags (150
gauge) smeared with bitumen-kerosene mixture.

17. Palm Civet
Paradoxurus hermaphroditus
• Bite & Break @ terminal half / One side of the pod – Beans swollen as such.
• “Civet Cocoa”
• Trapping
• Poison bait – O.5 g of Carbofuran granules using ripe banana - 2/ trunk @ 5-
6 trees/ha.

19. Management of vertebrate pests
• Jungle cat – 20% ;All vertebrates – 35 %
• Poison bait – carbofuran 3G – Banana fruit/ Jaggery
• Timely harvest, Clean cultivation, Trapping