Bioefficacy of Botanicals against Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) in Blackgram (Vigna mungo)

Incidence of whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Genn.) on blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) is one of the most serious problems in northern states of India. Being well known to the adverse effect of synthetic insecticides on natural resources and beneficial insects, an attempt has been made to evaluate botanicals including some indigenous products against whitefly in blackgram during kharif 2019 and 2020. The result of two years of study revealed that Achook (NSKE) 2.25 mL L^-1, citrus lemon juice 10 mL L^-1, Lantana camara leaves extract 10 mL L^-1 of water and cow urine led to 11.8-68.8% reduction in whitefly population over control. Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 0.4 g L^-1 resulted in 58.7-88.7% reduction, but it was relatively toxic to the natural enemies (coccinellid beetles). Significant reduction in adult whitefly population was observed in different treatments with satisfactory grain yield. Thus botanicals can become part of integrated pest management programme of whitefly.