Management of citrus black fly (Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby) with different insecticides in sweet orange

Field trials were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of different insecticides against citrus black fly, Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby in sweet orange during 2007, 2008 and 2009. Pooled results revealed that, acephate @ 0.1125 per cent was found to be most effective in reducing population of the pest to the extent of 81.25% followed by thiamethoxam @ 0.05 per cent (79.54%) and imidacloprid @ 0.005 per cent (76.77%) at 14 days after spraying. Amongst biopesticides, neem oil (1%) also reduced nymphal population of blackfly, in the order neem oil (1%) >neem oil (1%) > NSKE (5%) >pongamia oil (1%) >neem soap (1%) >pongamia soap (1%). Application of acephate @ 1.5 g/litre produced maximum fruit yield (17.81 t/ha) followed by thiamethoxam @ 0.1 g/litre. All biopesticides recorded significantly higher yield than untreated control.