Symptoms

• The caterpillars feed on flower buds, flowers and bore into bolls.
• When they bore into flower buds, they feed on developing anther and style and occasionally on ovary. When they are found in flowers, the flowers do not open and give rosette appearance.
• The young bolls when attacked, bolls shed after a few days, but the larger bolls remain on the plant.
• Seeds are destroyed and lint gets stained
• The aperture through which they make their entry into the boll is closed and it becomes difficult to differentiate between a healthy and infested boll

Preventive Measures

Use pheromone trap @ 5/Ac to monitor the adult moth activity. Dispose off the crop residues as soon as harvest is over.