Efficacy of Mineral and Non-Edible Seed Oils Against Aphids and Whitefly in Potato

Field experiments were conducted at the ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute-Regional Station, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh during 2015-16 and 2016-17 to evaluate efficacy of mineral and non-edible seed oils against green-peach aphid Myzus persicae and cotton whitefly Bemisia tabaci in potato. Three sprays were done at 15 days interval revealed that maximum reduction in their incidence was observed with imidacloprid 17.8SL (0.03%) followed by mineral oil (6 ml/l); B. tabaci incidence reduced by 72.63% and 61.06%, respectively, while it was 87.60% and 62.27% with M. persicae. Similar trend was observed with all the three sprays. The non-edible oils were not effective. Incidence of viruses was the least (0.26 and 0.27%, respectively) with imidacloprid 17.8SL (0.03%) and mineral oil (6 ml/l). Thus, imidacloprid 17.8SL (0.03%) and mineral oil (6 ml/l) can be recommended to manage vector-virus complex in potato.