Journal of Biological Control

1-7

Authors: Vinay Singh, A. K. Sood

Greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) is a key pest of tomato under protected environment in Himachal Pradesh. Recently, an aphelinid parasitoid, Encarsia formosa Gahan was observed to parasitize T. vaporariorum in mid-hill regions of Himachal Pradesh. It seems to be the first record of this aphelinid parasitoid from India. Population buildup of E. formosa was recorded in eight insecticide based greenhouse whitefly management modules comprising soil application of imidacloprid (0.009%) and foliar applications of spiromesifen (0.02%), thiamethoxam (0.01%) and azadirachtin (0.0003%) in tomato grown during summer cropping seasons of 2015 and 2016 under naturally ventilated polyhouse. Parasitization by E. formosa in the plants without treatment varied from 31.8 to 81.2 and 36.8 to 93.6 per cent during 2015 and 2016, respectively. The insecticidal module comprising single soil application of imidacloprid one day after transplanting followed by alternate foliar applications of azadirachtin starting 45 days after transplanting at 10 days interval proved favourable for buildup of E. formosa as compared to other insecticide based greenhouse whitefly management modules during both the seasons. Based on the observations recorded, it was observed that the parasitoid has the potential for inclusion in greenhouse whitefly management programme.

14-19

Authors: N. Yaiphabi Chanu, R. Nagar, A. K. Meena, R. Swaminathan

A study on the feeding behaviour of three species of Chlaenius and two species of Calosoma (Coleoptera: Carabidae), the caterpillar and semi-looper hunting predatory ground beetles in agro-ecosystems, was carried out under laboratory conditions in the Department of Entomology, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur, during September to November, 2016. The carabid predator species and the second/ third instar tobacco caterpillar prey relationship followed the typical Holling’s Type II functional response. Of the three species of Chlaenius evaluated, Chlaenius udaipurensis Chanu and Swaminathan consumed the maximum prey with a preference for the second instar tobacco caterpillar. Increase in second instar caterpillar prey density from 1 to 5 resulted in an increase in mean prey consumption up to 4.4 in 24 hours. Under enhanced prey provision from 5 to 25 to Ch. udaipurensis the maximum mean consumption was 9.0; whereas, the maximum third instar caterpillar consumption was only 2.0 in 24 hours. Both species of Calosoma could kill 11 to 13 third instar tobacco caterpillars per day. Increased prey density evinced a gradual decreasing trend in the per cent feeding propensity with little variation among the species for both the genera of carabids. The relationship between prey consumption and the body mass increase for the species of Chlaenius showed significant positive correlation (r = 0.902 for II instar prey and r = 0.711 for III instar prey); similarly, the relationship for Calosoma species had significant positive correlation (r = 0.795).

25-30

Authors: Chitra Shanker, M. Sampathkumar, V. Sunil, S. Amudhan, G. Sravanthi, B. Jhansirani, J. Poorani, Gururaj Katti

Coccinellid species belonging to fifteen genera, under five tribes of the family Coccinellidae were collected and identified in this study. Harmonia (Fab.) was the most predominant in southern regions and Coccinella septumpunctata L. was more abundant in the northern and hill regions. Margalef richness index ranged from 9.07 to 14.00 while the species richness directly measured by Hills number H0 ranged from 5-10, with highest species richness present at Malan, Himachal Pradesh. The highest predation was observed in female H. octomaculata which fed on a maximum of 8.00, 7.42 and 6.59 brown planthopper (BPH), WBPH white backed planthopper (WBPH) and green leafhopper (GLH) respectively per day, while the lowest was observed in Propylea dissecta which fed on 3.18 to 4.50 hoppers per day. Coccinellids like H. octomaculata can be utilized in biological control programmes as a part of Integrated Pest Management to reduce pest outbreaks.

37-40

Authors: Vijay Singh, Usha Chauhan

The study was carried out during 2013 and 2014 on tomato (var. Solan gola) in open field. Infestation of Tetranychus ludeni Zacher was recorded. Predatory mite viz. Neoseiulus sp. nr. neoghanii was observed in association with T. ludeni. Maximum population of T. ludeni was recorded during June month both years with population 2.6±0.58 (2013) & 2.3±0.42 (2014) mites/leaf. N. sp. nr. neoghanii was observed in June and July month. Population was 0.2±0.2 mites/leaf both years. Populations of T. ludeni and N. sp. nr. neoghanii showed a positive correlation with average temperature and negatively correlated with relative humidity. Occurrence of these species on this crop was the first report from this region. The study will be useful in bio control programme in near future.

48-51

Authors: Sharanabasappa, C. M. Kalleshwaraswamy, M. S. Maruthi, Hiroshi Shima

Field study was conducted for two years (2014-16) to know the population dynamics of banana skipper, Erionota torus Evans (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) and its tachinid parasitoids, Senometopia sp., and Winthemia sumatrensis. The pooled data over the two years indicated that the skipper plant infestation ranged from 6.66 to 84.25 per cent and incidence started during the first fortnight of August (8.34 per cent incidence) when the crop was at broadleaf follower stage, and a gradual increase in the infestation level of skipper was observed with a peak activity (84.25 per cent incidence) during first fort night of January (Pre flowering period) and also extended to the flowering period (February to March). The pooled data over the years indicated the maximum incidence was recorded during pre flowering period with a mean infestation of 75.02 per cent followed by flowering period (45.67 per cent), broad leaf followers (29.58 per cent) and bunch period (1.66 per cent). Two tachinid parasitoids Senometopia sp., and W. sumatrensis were encountered during our two years study period. The larval parasitoids activity initiated from second fortnight of September (0.62 per cent) and reached its maximum population during second fortnight of November (7.25 per cent) and later parasitoid activity gradually declined till second fortnight of January (0.62 per cent). The maximum activity was noticed during pre flowering period with a mean of 3.27 per cent parasitization by Senometopia sp., and W. sumatrensis.

62-67

Authors: K. Muruga Sridevi, S. Jeyarani, K. Ramaraju

In recent years, increased interest has been shown towards biological control based management practices following the unsatisfactory results with the application of conventional insecticides. In Integrated Pest Management, selection of right plant protection methods coupled with right appliance is important to tackle the target pest in an effective manner. In this context, microplot and field trials were carried out to evaluate the efficacy of the oil based formulation of B. bassiana (Bb 112) against chilli thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood to identify an effective delivery method among different sprayers used (ASPEE Maruyama Engine sprayer, Avenger ULV sprayer, ASPEE Battery sprayer, ASPEE Knapsack hand sprayer, ASPEE Hitech hand sprayer and CDA sprayer). Microplot experiment on chilli thrips, S. dorsalis revealed that the oil based formulation of B. bassiana (Bb 112) was significantly superior to all other treatments and recorded the highest cumulative mean population reduction of 47.54 per cent. The cumulative mean per cent reduction in first (at Kumarapalayam) and second field trial (at Ambilikkai) against Chilli thrips showed that, oil based formulation of B. bassiana (Bb 112) @ 10⁸ spores ml^-1 sprayed with CDA sprayer was significantly superior to other treatments with 43.01 and 46.65 per cent reduction, respectively.