Eco-friendly management of sucking insect pests in okra with homemade and commercial neem formulations under Punjab conditions

Abstract

Sucking insect pests like leaf hopper, Amrasca bigutulla bigutulla (Ishida) and whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) pose a great threat to the high production of okra fruit. Being vegetable crop, it is eaten as raw and cooked, but due to attack of pest numbers of sprays were done at weekly interval to manage this pest. To reduce the pesticides load on crop and human body the botanical based biorational were in use. So there is need for eco-friendly management of these sucking pests so as to reduce the pesticide load in the okra crop. Neem and its formulations as botanical insecticides can play an important role against sucking insect pests and as an alternative to chemical insecticides. Experiments were conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during 2018 and 2019. Neem formulations Ecotin 5% @ 200 mL and PAU homemade neem extract @ 3000 mL per hectare were found effective for the management of leaf hopper and whitefly in okra. The present finding will help in reducing the pesticide load on vegetable crops and enhance natural enemy biodiversity.