Maha: 2 Jalna researchers zero in on 5 fruit-piercing moths

Two professors of a college in Jalna in Maharashtra have identified five fruit-piercing moth species that cause immense damage to citrus, pomegranate and papaya cultivators.

Two professors of a college in Jalna in Maharashtra have identified five fruit-piercing moth species that cause immense damage to citrus, pomegranate, and papaya cultivators. The research paper of zoology professors Ravindra Pathre and Sharad Jadhav of Matsyodary Arts and Science College in Jalna's Ambad has been published in the "Research Journal of Agricultural Sciences" (RJAS), a prestigious international publication.

There are 1,60,000 varieties of moths in the world, of which some 660 are found in Maharashtra, five of which have been found to pierce fruits, including the 'eudocima' which is responsible for about 90 percent of damage to cultivation, Pathre said on Sunday. "These moths pierce ripening fruits and suck the juice inside, leading to premature fruit fall, rotting, and quality deterioration. The attacked fruit can be recognized by the hole drilled by the moth's proboscis," Jadhav said.

RJAS is a bi-monthly, peer-reviewed publication devoted to the advancement and dissemination of scientific knowledge on all disciplines of agricultural sciences.