Field Bio-Efficacy of Entomopathogenic Nematode-Based Integrated Management of White Grubs in Arecanut
Abstract
The white grubs (root grubs), a soil-dwelling coleopteron insect pest are major problem for arecanut cultivation in Western Ghats of India. A three year field evaluation (2015– 2017) was conducted to assess the efficacy of integrated white grub management practices, which included the soil drench of a liquid suspension of local isolate of the entomopathogenic nematode(EPN), Steinernema carpocapsae, in combinations with other IPM practices. The experiment aimed to develop an integrated pest management system against white grubs in arecanut and to evaluate its impact on arecanut yield and related attributes. The integrated approach, comprising soil drainage, collection and destruction of grubs by digging palm basins (up to 10cm depth and 60cm from the trunk), soil application of neem cake at 2kg/palm, insecticide application (imidacloprid at 0.25ml/L of water), along with soil drenching of liquid suspension of EPN, S. carpocapsae at 20lakh IJs/palm, resulted in a significant reduction in grub population (86 to 92%) and an increase in dry arecanut yield (164-332 kgs/acre) by 2017. In contrast, prior to treatment (2015), these gardens had the highest root grub population (11.6grubs/palm) and the lowest yields (48.6–238kgs/acre). These results demonstrate the effectiveness of EPN-based integrated pest management practices for white grub management in arecanut.
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