1Division of Agricultural Chemicals, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110012
2Department of Chemistry, S S Jain Subodh PG College, Jaipur, Rajasthan-302007
Department of Entomology, Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan (HP) – 173230, India
*Correspondence: abransinghagrian@gmail.com
Online Published on 14 December, 2023.
The infestation of fruit borer in litchi has been reported to vary between 13.6– 89% in different parts of India. Hence, the present study was conducted to evaluate the bio-efficacy of eight insecticides (6 synthetic and 2 bio-pesticides).The study revealed that among synthetic insecticides, lambda cyhalothrin, cypermethrin and quinalphos performed relatively better as compared to monocrotophos, chlorpyriphos and spinosad whereas the bio-pesticides were found to be least effective. No phytotoxicity symptoms were recorded for any of the treatments. The insecticides, lambda cyhalothrin, cypermethrin and quinalphos were able to avoid yield loss from 79.7 to 83.0% due to fruit borer compared to 22.4 and 49.9% for bio-pesticides. The benefit cost ratio (BCR) for these insecticide treatments ranged from 136.9:1 to 825.3:1 as against <1.0 to 9.6:1 calculated for the bio-pesticides in the study. The outcomes of the study revealed that synthetic insecticides are much more potent than biopesticides for managing litchi pod borer. Hence, more potential biopesticides need to be explored.
Bio-efficacy, Fruit borer, Insecticides, Benefit cost ratio (BCR), Avoidable loss
