Present status on bio-ecology and management of tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) – An update

Abstract

The tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) is one of the economically important and regular polyphagous pests on the field and horticultural crops and distributed in Indo-Australian tropics. The larvae feed on a wide range of plants and have been recorded from over 40 mostly dicotyledonous plant families. It is a major pest of tobacco, cotton, rice, maize, soybean and groundnut. The present article focuses on literature generated on various aspects of tobacco caterpillar viz., pest status and their distribution, biology, damage, losses, seasonal incidence, host range and ecology and different management strategies such as, cultural and mechanical, host plant resistance, role of natural enemies and need based chemical control besides integrated pest management strategies employed against this pest.