Field Assessment of Insecticides on Insect Pests, Pollinator and Yield of Sweet Gourd

The study evaluated the effectiveness of six insecticide products chlorpyrifos 50% + cypermethrin 5%, profenofos 40% + cypermethrin 4%, deltamethrin 2.5%, imidacloprid 20% and malathion 67% along with an untreated control, on the abundance and infestation of Aulacophora foveicollis (Lucas) and epilachna beetle (Epilachna dodecastigma (Wiedemann), E. vigintioctopunctata (Fabricius)), as well as on honeybee (Apis sp.) pollinator abundance and crop yield. The findings showed that the applied insecticides significantly reduced pest abundance and infestation levels, resulting in higher yield of sweet gourd. Among the tested insecticides, chlorpyrifos + cypermethrin resulted in the lowest abundance of red pumpkin beetle (0.50 beetle vine^-1) and epilachna beetle (0.22 beetle vine^-1), as well as the lowest levels of leaf and flower infestation (17.0 and 8.9%, respectively). Chlorpyrifos + cypermethrin reduced the abundance of red pumpkin beetle and epilachna beetle by 90.6 and 91.1%, respectively, and decreased leaf and flower infestation by 61.6 and 70.9%, respectively. Abundance of honeybee was highest in the untreated control (3.7) followed by malathion (3.3) and cypermethrin (2.8). The highest yield (22.0 tons ha^-1) of sweet gourd was recorded in the plots treated with chlorpyrifos + cypermethrin, which produced 158.8% higher yield compared to the untreated control, indicating its superior effectiveness in reducing pest infestation and enhancing crop productivity.