Tomato fruit worm

Caused by: Helicoverpa zea
Problem Category: Insect
Symptoms: Holes in tomato fruit, including entry holes near stem end; feeding turns inside of tomato into a watery cavity filled with cast skins and frass (insect feces); damaged fruit ripens prematurely; young caterpillars are cream-white in color with a black head and black hairs; older larvae may be yellow-green to almost black in color with fine white lines along their body and black spots at the base of hairs; eggs are laid singly on both upper and lower leaf surfaces and are initially creamy white but develop a brown-red ring after 24 hours and darken prior to hatching.
Comments: Adult insect is a pale green to tan, medium sized moth; can be one of the most damaging pests of tomato; insect overwinters as pupae in the soil; the insect is also a damaging pest of corn and is also referred to as the corn earworm
Management: Early treatment of tomato fruitworms is necessary as once they enter the fruit they are protected from sprays; monitor plants for eggs and young larvae ;
Control: Spary the chiili garlic extract or 5% Neem seed kernal extract to control fruit worrm