Eco-friendly management of rugose spiralling whitefly, Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin on coconut under coastal ecosystem of Maharashtra

Abstract

An experiment on eco-friendly approaches for the management of coconut Rugose spiralling whitefly (RSW), Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin under coastal ecosystem of Maharashtra was conducted during 2018-21 at Regional Coconut Research Station, Dapoli, Maharashtra, India. The data indicated that the IPM package consisting of neem oil application followed by water spray coupled with yellow sticky traps was found effective in reducing RSW incidence. It recorded lowest incidence (31.5%), intensity (20.0%), grade index (0.6) and population (33.6/four leaflet) of RSW) compared to natural control. The RSW per cent reduction over pre-count was noticed incidence (33.3%), intensity (37.1%) and live colony (37 nos.) in neem oil alone spray. The maximum Encarsia emergence from parasitized pupae of RSW was observed in T8-Control treatment (96.6%) was at par with T4-Neem oil @ 5 ml/litre of water (83.3%).