Management of New Sunflower Leaf Curl Virus Disease Caused by Begomovirus

Sunflower leaf curl virus (SuLCV) disease caused by begomovirus transmitted by whitefly (B. tabaci) is an economically important disease of sunflower and cause considerable yield loss in recent years. The study on the management of SuLCV disease of sunflower using insecticides, leaf extracts and bioagents revealed that seed treatment with imidachloprid @ 5 g/kg along with two sprays of imidachloprid @ 0.5 ml/l or triazophos @ 1.5 ml/l were found very effective in controlling the disease and vector population with increased yield and benefit cost ratio. Seed treatment followed by twosprays of imidachloprid or triazophos at 30 and 45 DAS recorded significantly lower SuLCV incidence (34.73% and 38.33% respectively) with highest yield (13.20 q/ha and 12.67q/ha respectively) and BCR (2.15 and 2.14 respectively). Hence, SuLCV can be managed very effectively by seed treatment with imidachloprid along with two sprays of imidachloprid or triazophos at 30 and 45 DAS.