Effectiveness of Synthetic Insecticides Against Leaf Eating Caterpillar, Spodoptera litura Fabricius on Castor

Nine insecticides were evaluated against leaf eating caterpillar, Spodoptera litura Fabricius infesting castor during 2012–13 at Anand Agricultural University, Anand. Chlorantraniliprole 20 SC @ 0.006% and emamectin benzoate 5 WG @ 0.002% performed better to protect the castor crop from the incidence of S. litura. The treatments of flubendiamide @ 0.01 per cent, indoxacarb @ 0.0075 per cent and spinosad @ 0.0135 per cent were found moderately effective in checking the incidence of this pest. Among the tested insecticides, Chlorantraniliprole (0.006%) treated plots produced highest (31.83 q/ha) castor yield followed by emamectin benzoate (31.10 q/ha). Chlorantraniliprole and emamectin benzoate found effective and economical treatments than the others and occupied first rank.