Management of major pest and diseases in paddy: An impact study

Integrated pest management (IPM) practices viz., agronomic practices, mechanical methods, spraying of 5% neem seed kernel extract and need based application of chemical pesticides such as soil application of insecticide fipronil @ 10 kg/acre and spraying of chlorpyrifos @ 2 ml/l were tested against pests in paddy. Spraying of fungicides hexaconozole @ 1 ml/l and spraying of tricyclozole @ 0.6 gm/l was carried out to suppress disease incidence. The pooled data for consecutive five years (2012 to 2016) pertaining to the effect of IPM practices revealed that the IPM practices were effective against paddy pests and diseases. The demonstrated technology showed the lesser incidence of stem borer, leaf roller, blast and sheath blight and it was better than farmers’ practice. The yield was higher in demonstration plot (58.82 q/ha) than farmers practice (50.30 q/ha), registering an increase in yield of 17.27 per cent over farmers practice. The highest monetary returns (Rs. 82, 105/ha), net income (Rs. 45, 935/ha) and cost-benefit ratio (1: 2.34) were observed in the demonstrated practice.