Impact of different pest management modules on the major insect pests and their predators on tomato

Abstract

Effect of three different pest management modules were evaluated against the major insect pests of tomato under Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Among the three tested modules, integrated pest management module (Module 3) comprised spraying of imidacloprid 17.8 % SL @ 0.33 ml/L, spiromesifen 22.9% SC @ 1.25 ml/L, indoxacarb 14.5% SC @ 0.8 ml/L, cyantraniliprole 10.26% OD @ 1.8 ml/L, chlorantraniliprole 18.5% SC @ 0.35 ml/L; Neem oil (0.5%) + Lecanicillium lecanii @ 2.5 g/L; and Neem oil (0.5%) + Beauveria bassiana @ 2.5 g/L and Neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) @ 4 ml/L from 30 DAT onwards to till 100 DAT at 10 days intervals each harboured lowest fruit damage (10.48%) along with maximum percent reduction over control (69.54). Integrated pest management module also registered lowest sucking pest population viz., leaf hoppers (0.19 leaf-1), whiteflies (0.23 leaf-1) and aphids (0.83 leaf-1) than the other pest management modules with maximum per cent reductions over control of 77.10, 79.46 and 67.83, respectively. The numbers of predatory mirid bugs and polyphagous spiders were also higher in this module. Furthermore, the highest healthy fruit yields (513.7 q ha-1) were recorded from the integrated pest management module. In terms of return, maximum net profit of ₹83875 was obtained from module 3 i.e., integrated pest management module with highest cost benefit ratio of 1:4.13 followed by biointensive pest management module (1:3.92).