Foreword As with abiotic causes of crop losses, especially the lack or excess of water in the growth season, extreme temperatures, high or low irradiance and nutrient supply, biotic stresses too substantially reduces crop production. Estimated losses due to pests in India is 33%, 26%, 20%, 6% and 6-8% by weeds, insects, diseases, rodents and other pests respectively. These account for crop losses up to 1980, 1300, 1000 and 300 crores of rupees, respectively caused by weeds, insects, diseases, rodents and other pests. As per the data available with GOI (2010), the value of loss caused by insect pests alone in million is Rs. 29450, 26100, 43551 and 41368 in maize, rapeseed-mustard, pulses and wheat respectively. These organisms may be controlled by applying physical (cultivation, mechanical, use of traps, etc.), cultural (crop rotation, intercropping etc.) biological (parasitoids, pathogens, predators etc.) and chemical measures (pesticides). Protection makes only 5-8% of the total cost during production in one vegetation. On the other hand, damages resulting from absence of proper care or poor performance can be huge. If protection is omitted or done superficially and inadequately, losses will be even higher.

1.1    Cereals     Maize          1. Maize stem borer, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)     2. Asian maize borer, Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenee) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)     3. Blister beetle, Mylabris pustulata Thunberg (Coleoptera: Meloidae)               Sorghum              1. Sorghum midge, Contarinia sorghicola (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)     2. Sorghum ear head bug, Calocoris angustatus (Hemiptera: Miridae)     3. Sorghum shoot bug, Peregrinus maidis (Hemiptera: Delphacidae)     4. Sorghum shoot fly / stem fly, Atherigona soccata (Diptera: Anthomyiidae)     5. Maize Stem borer, Chilo partellus (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)     6. Other minor pests          Ragi          1. Pink borer, Sesamia inferens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)     2. Aphids: Schizaphis graminum, Hysteroneura setariae, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Hemiptera: Aphididae)     3. Root aphid, Tetraneura nigriabdominalis (Hemiptera: Aphididae)     4. Other minor pests          Pulses     Black gram / green gram          1.  Pod borer, Maruca testulalis (Lepidoptera: Crombidae)     2. Hairy caterpillar, Amsacta moorei (Butler): (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)     3. Stem fly Ophiomyia phaseoli (Tryon) (Diptera: Agromyzidae)     4. Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) (Diptera: Aleyrodidae)     5. Thrips, Caliothrips indicus (Bagn.) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)     6. Green Jassid, Empoasca kerri (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)     7. Bean bugs, Clavigralla gibbosa Spinola (Hemiptera: Coreidae), Dusky cotton bug, Oxycarenus laetus Kirby (Hemiptera: lygaeidae)     8. Bean mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) (Acarina: Tarsonemidae)     9. Cut worm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel), Agrotis flammatra Schiff.(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)          French bean (Rajmash)          1. Hairy caterpillar, Amsacta moorei (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)     2. Blister beetle, Mylabris pustulata (Thunberg) (Coleoptera: Meloidae)     3. Bean fly Ophiomyia phaseoli (Tryon) (Diptera: Agromyzidae)     4. Bean thrips, Megalurothrips distalis (Karny) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)     5. Cut worm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel), Agrotis flammatra Schiff.(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)     6. Bean mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) (Acarina: Tarsonemidae)          Oilseeds     Til (Sesame)          1. Hairy Caterpillar, Amsacta moorei (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)     2. Leaf hopper: Orosius albicinctus Distant (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)     3. Aphids     4. White flies, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)     5. Leaf webber or roller and capsule borer, Antigastra catalaunalis Duponchel (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)     6. Gall fly: Asphondylia sesame Felt (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)     7. Sphinx moth or Dead head moth: Acherontia styx (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)          Polyphagous Pests          1. White grub Holotrichia consanguinea Blanchard (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)     2. Rodents

2.1    Cereals            Maize     1. Turcicum leaf spot                     2. Common rust     3. Leaf spot or Leaf blight     4. Head smut     5. Common smut or Maize smut         6. Bacterial stalk rot     7. Banded leaf and sheath blight     8. Fusarium stalk rot of maize     9. Downy mildew            Bajra          1. Green ear or downy mildew     2. Ergot     3. Smut                Sorghum          1. Anthracnose (foliar, head, root and stalk rot)     2. Charcoal rot                Pulses            Moong/Mash          1. Cercospora leaf spot     2. Bean blight     3. Anthracnose     4. Web blight     5. Powdery mildew     6. Yellow mosaic disease     7. Root rot              Rajmash and Cluster beans          1. Bean rust     2. Bacterial wilt     3. Common blight     4. Halo blight     5. Alternaria leaf spot     6. Angular leaf spot     7. Anthracnose     8. Powdery mildew     9. Rust     10. Fusarium root rot     11. Pythium root rot          Cowpea          1. Leaf spot     2. Root rot     3. Ascochyta blight     4. Bacterial blight     5. Brown rust     6. Cercospora leaf spot     7. Fusarium wilt     8. Yellow mosaic virus          Oilseeds     Sesame or Til          1. Phytophthora blight or stem blight     2. Alternaria leaf spot     3. Bacterial blight and bacterial leaf spot     4. Phyllody          Groundnut          1. Collar rot     2. Botrytis blight     3. Charcoal rot     4. Cylindrocladium black rot     5. Circular leaf spot

3.1 Cereals 1.    List of weeds in kharif season crops      2.    Weed management techniques in cereals          Maize     Pearl millet / Sorghum     Ragi      3.    Weed management techniques in Pulses              Greengram / Blackgram     Pigeonpea     Cowpea     Cluster bean     Rajmash      4.    Weed management techniques in Oilseeds              Sesame Til     Major weeds of kharif season crops      5.    Non-crop lands weeds and their management          1. Parthenium hysterophorus     2. Saccharum spontaneum     3. Lantana camara

4.1    Essential Plant Nutrients     Macronutrients     1. Nitrogen     2. Phosphorus     3. Potassium     4. Calcium     5. Magnesium     6. Sulphur      Micronutrients          1. Iron     2. Zinc     3. Boron     4. Manganese     5. Molybdenum     6. Chlorine     7. Nickel     8. Sodium     9. Cobalt     10. Silicon

References Anonymous, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Crop Watch. Bacterial wilt by Robert Harveson, Extension Plant Pathologist. Atwal, A.S. and Dhaliwal, G.S. 1997. Agricultural Pests of South Asia and their Management. Kalyani Publishers. Ludhiana, India. Aulakh, M.S., Sidhu, B.S., Arora, B.R. and Singh, B. 1985. Content and uptake of nutrients by pulses and oilseed crops. Indian Journal of Ecology. 12:238-242. B.P. Panday. 1994. A Text Book of Plant Pathology. Publisher S. Chand and Company Limited, Ram Nagar, New Delhi.