ABSTRACT
Cotton bollw orm /legum e pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is the most important pest on a wide variety of food, fibre, oilseed, fodder and horticultural crops. Its preference for flowering/ fruiting parts of high-value crops such as cotton, vegetables, com and pulses confers a high socio-economic cost to its depredations under both commercial and subsistence farming systems. This pest is widely distributed in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Mediterranean Europe. Extensive damage by Helicoverpa has been reported on cotton, pigeonpea, chickpea, sunflower and vegetables. In the tropics, total crop losses due to Helicoverpa may exceed US$2 billion annually, and the cost of insecticides used to control H. armigera may be over US$ 500 million per year (Sharma 2001).
