What's eating my chickpea?

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is host to over 25 insect pest species. The gram pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera) is far and away the worst, causing heavy direct seed losses at pod fill. Aphids and cutworms are chronic garden threats, while the chickpea leafminer tunnels the leaves. Integrated management from flowering is essential.

Caterpillars bore into pods and devour developing seeds; large circular entry holes; frass around bore sites; can destroy 50–100% of yield in bad years Apply Bt or spinosad at first flower; use pheromone traps to time sprays; intercrop with coriander or fennel to attract predators; grow short-duration varieties to escape peak moth pressure

Colonies on soft tips and flower buds; honeydew and sooty mould; vectors chickpea stunt and other viruses Spray with insecticidal soap or neem oil; encourage parasitic wasps; remove heavily infested shoot tips by hand

Larvae sever stems at soil level overnight, creating dead patches of seedlings that look like slug damage but without slime trails Cultivate before sowing to expose pupae; apply Bt or beneficial nematodes at planting; hand-torch hunt at night to collect larvae

Larvae create winding pale tunnels through leaflets; heavy infestation causes early leaf drop and reduced pod fill Remove and destroy mined leaves; use yellow sticky traps; avoid broad-spectrum insecticides to preserve parasitoid wasps