Field Incidence of the Pink Bollworm on Bt Cotton in Raichur region of Karnataka

This study was conducted to assess the damage caused by the pink bollworm (PBW) to plants in Bt cotton fields. Fifteen fields in Raichur district of Karnataka were used for the study that was conducted during 2015-16. These included irrigated and rainfed fields. Boll and locule damage varied from 55.42 to 94.90%, and 63.18 to 90.20% respectively, across the fields. Average boll and locule damage under rainfed condition was 68.47% and 74.93%, whereas, it was 77.23% and 80.04%, under irrigated condition, respectively. There was no significant difference in the damage caused by PBW in both rainfed and irrigated conditions. This field study indicated that the damage to Bt cotton plants was very high in the study area, and was not influenced by cultural practices like irrigation, and the hybrids cultivated.