Sesame crops can be susceptible to various pests, which can cause damage to the plants and reduce yield if not properly managed. Some common pests of sesame include: Aphids: These small, soft-bodied insects feed on the sap of sesame plants, causing stunted growth, yellowing of leaves, and deformation of the plant. Whiteflies: Whiteflies are tiny insects that suck sap from the leaves of sesame plants. Heavy infestations can lead to yellowing, wilting, and distortion of leaves, as well as the transmission of viral diseases. Thrips: Thrips are small, slender insects that feed on the leaves and flowers of sesame plants. They can cause damage by sucking sap and transmitting diseases, leading to reduced yield and quality. Leafhoppers: Leafhoppers are small, wedge-shaped insects that feed on the sap of sesame plants. They can cause yellowing, wilting, and curling of leaves, as well as the transmission of plant diseases. Cutworms: Cutworms are caterpillars that feed on the stems of sesame plants, often cutting them near the soil surface. They can cause significant damage, especially to young plants. Armyworms: Armyworms are the larvae of certain moth species that feed on the leaves and stems of sesame plants, often in large numbers. They can defoliate plants rapidly if not controlled. Sesame webworms: These caterpillars spin webs on the leaves and feed within them, causing damage to the foliage of sesame plants. Sesame flea beetles: These beetles feed on the leaves of sesame plants, causing small holes and skeletonization of the foliage, which can reduce plant vigor and yield. Proper pest management practices, including the use of insecticides, cultural controls such as crop rotation and maintaining proper plant health, and biological controls such as the use of natural enemies, can help mitigate the damage caused by these pests and protect sesame crops.

1. Pests of Sesame
By
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD.
Assistant Professor (Entomology)
JSACAT
Affiliated to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

2. Leaf webber, Leaf roller, Sesame webworm, Til leaf
roller, Simsim webworm, pod caterpillar, Antigastra
catalaunalis, Pyraustidae, Lepidoptera
1
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Nature of damage
1st instar stage acts as leaf miner
Later stage acts as leaf and flower webber
When capsule formed, it acts as capsule borer
By suitably adjusting its feeding habit, it
attacks throughout the crop period.
It is endemic to tropical and subtropical areas (South Asia, Malay Archipelago, Africa), but is also found in
other areas due to its migratory nature.

3. Symptom of damage
Vegetative phase
Top leaves rolled and
webbed together
Reproductive phase
Flowers and young
capsules bored

4. Forewings are reddish-yellow colour with zigzig
indistinct reddish decorative markings on them;
hindwings are pale yellow and transparent.
Eggs shinning pale
green
Greenish white in colour with black warts
and fine hairs all over the body
Pupates in silken cocoon It is
slender, greenish brown in
colour.
Binomics
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)

5. Gall fly, Asphondylia sesami, Cecidomyiidae, Diptera
2
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Nature of damage
Maggots feed on floral parts and
cause malformation like galls (tumors)
on the buds, which fail to develop
Symptom of damage
Gall formation
The pest is common in countries like Nigeria,
Uganda, Sudan, India, and Ethiopia.

6. It lays eggs in the flowers or buds
The maggot is white, found inside the flowers
It pupates inside the malformed capsules
Minute sized flies with bright coloured wings bearing
superficial resemblance to mosquitoes
Management
Spray crop at bud initiation stage with Dimethoate @ 0.03%
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)

7. Sphinx, Death’s head moth, hawk moth, Acherontia
styx, Sphingidae, Lepidoptera
3
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Nature of damage
Massive larva is voracious feeder
on leaves defoliating the whole
plant
Symptom of damage
Defoliation
North-central and western China westward across northern Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India,
Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and Iran to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan and Israel

8. Large yellowish eggs are laid
singly on leaves
Stout, sturdy and greenish with dark green or
yellow oblique lines on its sides also decorated
with pleasant mixture of soft colours; measures
90-100 mm long and 12-15 mm broad and bears a
curved caudal horn
Pupates in soil
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)

9. Large, robust, greyish brown insect. Forewings have dark-brown and grey patterns with dark
wavy markings and a prominent yellow spot on each wing while the hindwings with two dark
brown wavy broad cross strips. Wingspan is about 10 cm. The thorax bears a prominent
Death’s head mark. Abdomen with dark-brown cross bands.
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)

10. Leaf hopper, Orosius albicinctus, Cicadellidae,
Hemiptera
4
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Vector of sesamum phyllody (Witches broom of
sesame)
Management
Remove sesame phyllody diseased plants
Spray Dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml (or) Methyl
demeton 25 EC 500 ml/ha.
Sesame phyllody is caused by phloem-limiting
Candidatus Phytoplasma (Mollicutes)
intracellular pathogens
Light brown coloured
hoppers

11. Aphid, Aphis gossypii, Aphididae, Hemiptera
5
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)
Symptoms of damage
Crinkling and curling of leaves
Honeydew excreted by the insects invites sooty
mold that affects photosynthetic rate
Management
Seed treatment with Imidacloprid 600FS @ 7.5 ml
per kg seed.
Spray Thiamethoxam 25WG @ 40 g/ac or
Imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 40 ml/ac
Aphids (Asuvini in Tamil)
Tropical and temperate regions throughout the world except northern Canada and
northern Asia

12. Pod bug, Elasmolomus sordidus, Lygaeidae,
Hemiptera
7
Symptom of damage
Damaged pods shrivel up
Nature of damage
Nymphs and adults suck sap from the mature
pods especially after harvest making them unfit
for use
Dark brown bugs
Widespread in Africa, Asia, Brazil, Mexico and Hawaii
Dr. U. Pirithiraj, P.hD. (Entomology)