• Larva congregates inside the leaf whorls and feed on the central leaves causing typical ‘pin hole’ symptom
• The central shoot turns brownish and dries out, although the lower leaves remain green and healthy, called as ‘dead heart’
• Bored holes are plugged with excreta.
• White ear symptom appears during panicle initiation stage, the empty panicles become very conspicuous in a field because they remain straight and whitish

Egg: Creamy white spherical shape eggs laid in clusters in the leaves and stem of the plant. Incubation period is 8 days

Larva: Pinkish brown, smooth and cylindrical with reddish brown head. Laval period is 22 days

Pupa: Dark brown with purple tinge in head. Pupate inside the stem. Pupation period is 8 days

Adult:  medium sized, pale yellow brown moths. Fore wings are light brown with two black spots. Hind wings are white with light yellow scales along the major veins

Cultural:

• In the initial stage, pull out and destroy dead-hearts
• Crop rotation with short duration non-graminaceous crop

Biological:

Apply bio control agents- Telenomus sp., Trichogramma minutum (egg parasites) and Apanteles flavipes, Bracon drinensis (larval parasites) and Tetrastichus ayyari (pupal parasites)

• Application of optimal rate of nitrogeneous fertilizer in split doses
• Spray Methyl Parathion 50EC 1ml/lit or Phosphomidan 85WSC 0.5ml/lit or Dimethoate 30EC 1.7ml/lit
• Spray Carbaryl 50WP @ 1Kg/ha

• Set up light trap

• The damage is similar to other stem borer, but caterpillar attacks the plant at root region.
• If the damage is severe, central shoot may die causing "Dead Heart'. If it is partial, the plants may turn yellow.
• Larva found at the base of tillers close to soil level and attacks the basal part of the plants.

Egg: The eggs are laid in batches of about 100 and are covered with silky greyish hairs; they resemble the eggs of the yellow stem borer. The incubation period is about 8 days. The female white stem borer lays the eggs near the tip of the leaf blade.

Larva: Creamy white with yellow head

Pupa: Brown, obtect type, pupates inside the stem

• Spray carbaryl 50 WP 1 kg per ha
• Spray Methyl parathion 50 EC 1 ml/litre or Phosphamidon 85 WSC 0.5 ml/litre or Dimethoate 30 EC 1.7ml/litre.

• Infects at any stage of the growth from the seedling to the grain formation stage
• The infection appears in the nursery from second week of after germination and spread quickly to entire nursery as well as to main field.
• Small brown circular to elongated spots appear on leaves which eventually develop into large elongated spindle shaped areas in the seedling stage. Young leaves dry completely in the nursery itself
• The spindle shaped spots appear on leaves in the main field. Several spots coalesce and cause drying of foliage

• Maximum damage is caused by the neck infection. The neck region turns black and shrinks.
• Infection occurs at the basal portions of the panicle branches including the fingers and the ear head breaks away from the stalk. The affected portions turn brown and ears become chaffy and only few shriveled grains are formed

• Mycelium is intra and inter-cellular
• Numerous conidiophores and conidia are produced in the central portion of the spindle shaped spots under humid conditions. As a result, the spot assumes a smoky appearance
• Condiophores emerge through the stomata or through the epidermal cells are simple septate and dark coloured
• Conidia are borne at the tip of the conidiaphores
• Conidia are pyriform, 3 celled, hyaline, 2 septate
• Conidia germinate with germ tubes which infect the leaf wither through epidermal cells or stomata

• Use disease free seeds
• Grow resistant varieties like CO RA (14), Paiyur (RA)-2, GPU-28,GPU-45,GPU-48, L-5
• Proper plant spacing and transplanting is advisable
• Early sowing reduces the blast severity
• Spray Pseudomonas sp. at 2 g/lit of water. First spray immediately after noticing the symptom. Second and Third sprays at flowering stage at 15 days interval
• Treat the seed with Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 6g/Kg seed and spray the extracts of Prosopis juliflora leaf extract (10%), Ipomoea carnea leaf extract (10%)

• Foliar spray with Aureofungin sol (100ppm) at 50% earhead emergence followed by a second spray of Pseudomonas sp. at 2g/lit of water 10 days later
• Seed treatment with carbendazim @ 1 gm/Kg of seed
• Treat the seeds with local materials like salt water and cown unrine
• Spray Carbendazim 0.1% in nursery 10-12 days after sowing. Repeat the spray 20-25 days after transplanting and 40 to 45 days after transplanting
• Treat the seeds with Agrosan G.N. or Ceresan @2.5g/Kg seed or Tricyclozole @ 1g/kgof seeds
• Spray SAAF @ 0.2% at 50% flowering and one more need based spray after 10 days was effective in controlling neck and finger blast