Management of aphid, Lipaphis erysimi in mustard with different spray schedules

The bioefficacy of five insecticidal spray schedules against aphid, Lipaphis erysimi Kaltenbach in mustard was evaluated a field experiment in conducted at Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Junagadh Agricultural University (JAU), Junagadh during Rabi 2012–13 and 2013–14. The results revealed that schedule 4 consisting of flonicamid 0.02 per cent at seedling stage, flubendamide 0.014 per cent at pre-flowering stage, azadirachtin 0.15 per cent at 50% flowering stage and acephate + fenvalerate 0.028 per cent at 50% pod formation stage was significantly. The most effective treatment which recorded lowest aphid index (1.1) over stage of the crop and year, whereas the schedule S₃ (1.4 aphid index) proved next better effective in comparison to control schedule S₆. The highest grain yield was found in schedule S₄ (1302 kg/ha) followed by S₃ (1218 kg/ha) and schedule S₅ (1172 kg/ha) yield. Significantly the lowest grain yield was recorded in untreated control schedule S₆ (500 kg/ha). It showed highest gross realization in schedule S₄ (29674 Rs/ha) followed by schedule S₃ (26566 Rs/ha). The schedule S₂ generated highest ICBR ratio (1: 6.7) followed by schedule S₃ (1: 6.3) and schedule S₄ (1: 6.3) whereas, schedule S₁ (1: 3.1) gave significantly lower ICBR than other schedules. Thus, any one of the above effective and economical insecticidal spray schedule can be suggested for the control of mustard aphid.