An eco-friendly approach for management of pulse beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus through neem formulations assisted with pitfall trap

Neem formulations [viz., Neem cake 20D, Neem leaf dust, Neem Seed Kernel Extract (NSKE) 20D, Neem oil 10D and Neem oil 60EC], Kaoline and Malathion 5D alone and their combining effect assisted with pitfall trap were tested against pulse beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus) infesting stored greengram. Neem oil 60EC and malathion 5D treated seeds neither registered any oviposition nor pest damage. Among the formulations, Neem oil 10D followed by NSKE 20D and Neem leaf dust also resulted in suppressing the pest growth. Seeds stored with pitfall trap exhibited significantly reduced oviposition (3.0 to 5.3 eggs/100 seeds) and damage (1.5 to 3.8%) as compared to seeds stored without pitfall trap (4.8 to 10.5 eggs/100 seeds and 3.1 to 6.7%, respectively). No oviposition and infestation was observed in the treatments of either neem oil 60EC or malathion 5D with and without pitfall trap. Seeds treated with either malathion 5D or neem oil 60EC registered higher germination (88.3 to 89.2%) compared to untreated check (69.3 to 77.4%). The seeds stored with trap resulted in germination as high as 81.0 to 84.3% to that of seeds stored devoid of trap (77.8 to 82.4%). The study revealed that neem oil 60EC associated with pitfall trap could be employed as an eco-friendly method in preventing pulse beetle inflicting greengram under storage conditions.