Efficacy of different trap crops against serpentine leaf miner in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Four trap crops viz., marigold, okra, sunflower and brinjal were evaluated for their efficiency against serpentine leaf miner, Liriomyza trifolii in tomato at SASRD, Medziphema, Nagaland University. The study was conducted in Split Plot Design with three replications. Tomato plants were planted on two different planting geometries assigned as P1 and P2 measuring 90 x 70 cm and 60 x 60 cm respectively while maintaining a ratio of 4:1. The incidence of serpentine leaf miner started right from the vegetative stage of the crop until the last harvest in both the planting geometries. It was observed that in the planting geometry of 90 x 70 cm (P1T1) where marigold was planted as a trap crop was found to be highly effective in curbing the infestation of serpentine leaf miner.