Dervishiya cadambae (Moore, 1865) (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) has emerged as a pest of increasing importance in grape production in India. The larvae initially feed beneath the loose bark of grapevine trunks and cordons and later bore into the woody tissues, resulting in substantial damage. The scientific information on its management in grapevine is scarce. The present study evaluated chemical, biological, and cultural approaches for the management of D. cadambae in grapevine. In laboratory bioassays, six insecticides registered for use in grapes were tested against larvae for screening purpose. At recommended concentrations, only fipronil caused appreciable mortality, reaching 80% at 15 days after treatment. A concentration-gradient assay with fipronil showed that five times the recommended concentration was the minimum dose required to achieve 100% larval mortality within 24 h. When all six insecticides were tested at five times the recommended concentration, methomyl, lambda-cyhalothrin, cyantraniliprole, and fipronil caused 100% mortality within 24 h, whereas emamectin benzoate and spinosad were ineffective. In field trials conducted at Bhavaninagar and Sayyad Pimpri, insecticidal treatments of lambda-cyhalothrin, cyantraniliprole, and fipronil combined with loose bark removal significantly reduced larval populations compared with insecticide application alone, loose bark removal alone, and untreated control. Further multi-location field experiments conducted during 2022–23 and 2023–24 in Nashik, Sangli, and Solapur showed that loose bark removal alone was as effective as loose bark removal combined with M. brunneum or lambda-cyhalothrin, and all these treatments significantly reduced larval infestation compared with untreated control. Reduction over control at 30 days after treatment ranged from 68.95 to 86.05% with loose bark removal alone, 78.48 to 90.70% with loose bark removal + M. brunneum, and 57.14 to 90.70% with loose bark removal + lambda-cyhalothrin. The findings demonstrate that timely removal of loose bark during the period of larval presence under the bark is a simple, effective, and environmentally safer cultural strategy for managing D. cadambae in grapevine, with strong potential for integration into IPM programmes.
