1Assistant Professor, Dept. of Agri. Entomology, PGP College of Agricultural Sciences, TNAU, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India
2Associate Professor, Dept. of Entomology, PJN College of Agriculture and Research Institute, TNAU
Online published on 3 June, 2015.
Two supervised field experiments were conducted in the bhendi during kharif, 2012 and rabi, 2012–13 to study the impact of agrochemicals on leafhoppers population. The agrochemicals used were fertilizer, insecticide and herbicide individually as well as in combinations. It was found that the population of leafhoppers was higher in the untreated check (4.53 to 7.06/plant) while a low population was recorded in the treatment with herbicide + insecticide (1.43 to 2.63/plant) during kharif. In rabi, a higher population was recorded in the untreated check (4.33 to 5.96/plant) while a low population was observed in the treatment with herbicide + insecticide (1.13 to 2.36/plant). It was also found that, the population was higher in the treatment with fertilizer (3.94 and 4.05/plant in kharif and rabi respectively) alone compared to the other treatments in both the seasons. Hence, a need based application of agrochemicals protect the ecosystem with a lesser impact on the insects and natural enemies.
Leafhoppers, Amrasca biguttula biguttula, impact, agrochemicals
