Developing organic integrated management OIM for major insect pests of mango Mangifera indica L

Abstract

Field and laboratory trials were conducted during 2013-17 at ICAR - Indian newlineInstitute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru to develop an organic integrated newlinemanagement (OIM) for major insect pests of mango viz., fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis, newlineleafhopper Idioscopus nitidulus, mealybug Rastrococcus iceryoides and stem borer newlineBatocera rufomaculata. In addition, certain insect predators were also monitored. Weather forecast models for fruit fly, leafhopper and mealybugs were developed to newlinepredict the pest population to plan and implement the organic management interventions standardized in the present study. The simple linear model based on wind speed helped in predicting the fruit fly population. In case of leafhopper and mealybug, maximum newlinetemperature was found to be reliable. The peak population of reduviid Isyndus heros was found during the vegetative phase. Correlation studies showed that they are highly sensitive to temperature confirming the reduviid population decrease during the summer (reproductive phase). The population of reduviids was very low to exert any predatory pressure. The peak population of spider Oxyopes kohaensis was found during the months of April-May. Interestingly O. kohaensis and B. cingulatus spider showed positive newlinecorrelation with temperature and it peaked when the temperature went up synchronising newlinewith the mango season. Hence, spiders can be used as indicators for residue-free fruits in mango. Management of stem borer was done using organic sealer cum healer, a new newlineproduct developed at ICAR-IIHR which consisted of inert materials and herbal oils along with micro nutrients. The product was evaluated for its efficacy in four different mango varieties under field conditions. The results suggested that as a prophylactic measure, infestation can be prevented to an extent of 95% in the first year and as curative it would take three years for the elimination of the pest. It was found that any of these botanicals sprayed at 5 ml/l or 5 g/l were newlineeffective in controlling leafhoppers and mealybug.