Bio-efficacy of botanical and insecticides for management of lace bug, Cochlochila bullita (stål) on Sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum L.

Ocimum plant is attacked by various insect pests, among which lace bug, Cochlochila bullita is a limiting factor in production and productivity of tulsi, Oscium basilicum crop. As the temperature decreased, infestations were more and maximum infestations were recorded in 52^nd SW i.e. in the month of December with a mean population of 43.2 bugs/plant. Among the chemical insecticides and plant products overall best performance was found in case of three times spraying of prophenophos 50 EC @ 1 ml/l applied at fortnightly intervals in reducing lace bug population 6.20, 4.70, 3.37 lace bug/plants as against 20.40, 33.40, 43.20 lace bug/plant in untreated control after 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd spraying which was at par with imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 0.3ml/l and malathion 50 EC @ 1ml/l. All plant products were least effective in reducing the lace bug population in comparison to synthetic chemicals but significantly superior to the untreated control. The overall mean % reduction in lace bug population, was recorded with prophenophos (73.9%) followed by imidacloprid (68.4%) and malathion (67.4%) as compared to 45.2%, 44.8% and 41.4% in karanj oil @ 2%, NSKE @ 5% and neem oil 2% after 3^rd spray.