Integrated Pest Management in Vegetable Crops

A process has been developed to prepare a spray formulation finding its application in agricultural use. The spray is constituted with two different raw materials for the control of insect causing damage to the vegetables crop. This product can be recommended for organic farming input. Neem spray and Pongamia (commonly known as Indian Beech, Honge, Pongam, etc. Common Hindi name: Karanj) spray formulations were developed by using combination ingredients and tested in farm fields for its effective control over pests. The sprays of these formulations are highly effective on all the pests on cabbage and cauliflower. 4-5 sprays of formulations have to be given to cabbage or cauliflower crop even when the pest incidence is high. However, sprays have to be started 15 days after planting. They are also effective on leaf miner, fruit fly, hopper, read spider mites, etc, in many vegetable crops. The use of sprays in cabbage and cauliflower IPM (Integrated Pest Management) was demonstrated in more than 100 ha in the recent past. Farmers who used these sprays are very happy with its performance. The sprays are effective against aphids, hoppers, fruit flies, etc. in many vegetables. They are also effective on mites when sprayed on lower leaf surface thoroughly. However, they were able to reduce brinjal shoot and fruit borer only marginally.

Method of application
Dissolve 5-10 10 gm of the formulation in 1 liter of water of and spray. per are Requirement Neem and formulation sprays sp

hectare is 5-10 10 kg per spray. Both Pongamia equally effective.

Limitation
At high temperatures of more than Pongamia pinnata 330C, these are not very effective as they get evaporated and get degraded very fast. Neem sp spray is more effective than Pongamia spray at higher temperatures of around 350C.

Spray timing
Better results are obtained if sprayed during evening time.

Following have to be kept in mind while using these sp sprays:

1. Sprays s act mostly by contact. The spray droplet has to fall on the target insect. Hence, thorough coverage of leaf area where insects are hiding is very important for effective control. 2. The effect may vary according to crops, coverage of spray and weather parameters. Hence, doses and number of applications have to be standardized for different crops and regions. 3. Too much and too frequent spraying is not advisable as the these se may be phototoxic. 4. Sprays can also be mixed with insecticides or acaricide to control very high incidence of leaf miner, mites mites, etc. Generally half of the recommended dose of insecticide or acaricide and 7.5 g of sp spray/liter /liter can be mixed and sprayed. But this should not be routinely followed.

Some important points to be considered while spraying

Thorough coverage of the crop surface is very important. The insects hiding in growing tip and lower surface of leaves have to be covered by spray. The sprays are effective provided, the spray droplets falls on the insects. Mortality has to be observed within 48 hours. It can be safely concluded as ineffective, if mortality is not observed within 48 hours.

Preparing the spray fluid

Add 200 gms of spray paste to 20 liter bucket, add 4-5 liters of water, squeeze by hand and dissolve, filter through a nylon net or tea filtering net and squeeze and add water. Often a very small quantity of formulation is left without dissolving and it can be ignored. Dose: 1% spray is generally recommended (10g/litre) in cabbage and other crops. Spray interval: 10-15 days, according to pest incidence.

Number of sprays
Maximum of 4 sprays for cabbage is recommended. In tomato spray at 15,28,35 and 42 days after planting to reduce fruit borer and leaf miner.

Temperature effect
Efficacy of spray and residual toxicity may get reduced by high temperature. effective at high temperatures. Neem spray was found effective up to 35 C at Bangalore. Pongamia spray may not be that

Rainfall effect
Rain washes the sprays. Hence it will not be effective if rain falls within 1-2 days of spray.

Phytotoxicity
No phototoxic effect was noticed at Bangalore at 350C when 1% was sprayed. However, at higher temperatures it will be better if spraying is done in the evening.

Pests controlled in different crops

Photos shown are various kind kinds of insects affecting vegetable crop. Cabbage: DBM, leaf webber, ebber, aphids ( (thorough coverage of leaf surface is a must. To control aphids mix with dimethoate 0.05%). Effective when the temperature is less than 320C. May not be effective at higher temperature. Tomato: Leaf mMiner, Miner, red spider mites ( (spray, lower surfaces of leaves) Brinjal, okra, mango: Hoppers ( (spray lower surface of leaves) Cucurbits: Fruit fly leaf miner Red Spider mites: 1% neem eem spray or 0.75% sp spray solution mixed with half of the recommended dose of acaricide was found to give excellent control of mites in farmers field. However, sprays have to be directed to lower surfa surfaces ces of the leaves. White fly: Good control can be obtained by two sprays, if coverage is good. good Mango: Hopper can an be used as a substitute for oils, wherever oils are recommended.

Spray application against pest

It is effective ffective against a wide range of insect pests in vegetables like diamondback iamondback moth, leaf webber, ebber, hopper, aphid, fruit fly, red spider mites, thrips thrips, etc. Standard dosage recommended: 7.5 10 kg/hectare (7.5 to 10 g/litre). Cost of each liter of product Rs 130 .00

Facility Required
Raw material storage tank, heater, reactors, mixer packing units, etc. Suggested capacity of production: 200 liter/day Area required 500 sq. ft Capital investment: Rs. 3-5 lakhs H.K. Phanikumar
Consultant Business development National Research Development Corporation (An Enterprise of DSIR, Min. of S&T, Government of India) Regional Office: # 107, 8th Main (Near 19th Cross), Malleswaram, Bengaluru 560 055, Phone: +91-80-23341255, Fax: +91-80-23347555 E mail: hkpkumar@nrdc.in, Website: http://www.nrdcindia.com
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