Main Article Content
Abstract
Predatory arthropods play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of insect pests. However, the use of broad-spectrum insecticides in pest management methods can pose a threat to predator populations. In response to the need for safer and more selective insecticides that spare natural enemies, an effort was made to know the diversity of predatory fauna and effect of seed dressers and foliar spraying insecticides on coccinellids and spiders at the Main Agricultural Research Station in Dharwad, Karnataka, during the summer 2021 and 2022. The treatments included four seed treatments, four seed treatments in combination with foliar spray, two foliar sprays alone, and an untreated control. Predator numbers were recorded at 45 and 65 days after sowing (DAS), selecting 20 plants randomly in all treatments. The results demonstrated that during the summer 2021 and 2022, seed treatment with chlorpyriphos 20EC was identified as safe, exhibiting the highest number of coccinellids (0.55 and 1.33 per plant) and spiders (0.54 and 1.62 per plant), respectively. These results were statistically comparable to other treatments like, seed treatment with imidacloprid 60 FS (0.49 and 1.00 coccinellids per plant) (0.48 and 1.38 spiders per plant), thiamethoxam 30 FS (0.45 and 0.95 coccinellids per plant) (0.44 and 1.22 spiders per plant) during 2021 and 2022 summer, respectively, ranking just below the untreated control. A significant difference in the population of coccinellids and spiders was observed among all the treatments, with seed-treated plants recording the highest predatory populations compared to foliar-sprayed plants. Consequently, the study concludes that seed treatment chemicals prove to be safer for predators while still effectively providing necessary pest control. This highlights the potential of integrating such seed treatment methods into pest management strategies to enhance overall efficacy while minimizing adverse effects on beneficial predator populations.
Keywords
Article Details
Copyright (c) 2024 Environment Conservation Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
References
- Bhosale, B. B., Agale, D. A. & Kadam, D. R. (2009). Bioefficacy of different insecticides against thrips in Bt cotton. Pestology, 33(9), 26-28.
- Gross, K. & Rosenheim, J. A. (2011). Quantifying secondary pest outbreaks in cotton and their monetary cost with causal-inference statistics. Ecological Applications, 21(7), 2770–2780. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1890/11-0118.1
- Gurr, G. M., Wratten, S. D. & Snyder, W. E. (Eds.). (2012). Biodiversity and insect pests: key issues for sustainable management. John Wiley & Sons. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118231838
- Kannan, M., Uthamasamy, S. & Mohan, S. (2004). Impact of insecticides on sucking pests and natural enemy complex of transgenic cotton. Current Science, 86(5), 726-729.
- Ohnesorg, W. J., Johnson, K. D. & O’neal, M. E. (2009). Impact of reduced-risk insecticides on soybean aphid and associated natural enemies. Journal of economic entomology, 102(5), 1816-1826. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1603/029.102.0512
- Patwari, A. B., (2019). Management of sucking insect-pests infesting groundnut. M.Sc. (Agri.) Thesis submitted to Vasantrao naik marathwada krishi vidyapeeth, Parbhani, India, p. 51.
- Ruberson, J. R. & Greenstone, M. H. (1998). Predators of budworm/bollworm eggs in cotton: an immunological study. In Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf (Vol. 2).
- Satpute, N. S., Katole, S. R., Nimbalkar, S. A., Sarnaik, D. N. & Satpute, U. S. (2001). Efficacy of imidacloprid and thiamethoxam as seed treatment against cotton jassids, Amrasca devastans Distant. Journal of applied zoological researches, 12(1), 88- 90.
- Sunderland, K. D., Axelsen, J. A., Dromph, K., Freier, B. & Hemptinne, J. L. (1997). Pest control by a community of natural enemies. Acta Jutlandica, 72, 271–326.
- Swarupa, Y., Elanchezhyan, K., Allwin, L., Aananthi, N. & Srinivasan, M. R. (2019). Efficacy of insecticide seed treatments against sucking pests and natural enemies in cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (Linn.) Walpers. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 8(3), 3982-3989.
- Symondson, W. O. C., Sunderland, K. D. & Greenstone, M. H. (2002). Can generalist predators be effective biocontrol agents? Annual review of entomology, 47(1), 561-594. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.47.091201.145240
- Varenhorst, A. J. & O’Neal, M. E. (2012). The response of natural enemies to selective insecticides applied to soybean. Environmental entomology, 41(6), 1565-1574. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1603/EN12068
References
Bhosale, B. B., Agale, D. A. & Kadam, D. R. (2009). Bioefficacy of different insecticides against thrips in Bt cotton. Pestology, 33(9), 26-28.
Gross, K. & Rosenheim, J. A. (2011). Quantifying secondary pest outbreaks in cotton and their monetary cost with causal-inference statistics. Ecological Applications, 21(7), 2770–2780. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1890/11-0118.1
Gurr, G. M., Wratten, S. D. & Snyder, W. E. (Eds.). (2012). Biodiversity and insect pests: key issues for sustainable management. John Wiley & Sons. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118231838
Kannan, M., Uthamasamy, S. & Mohan, S. (2004). Impact of insecticides on sucking pests and natural enemy complex of transgenic cotton. Current Science, 86(5), 726-729.
Ohnesorg, W. J., Johnson, K. D. & O’neal, M. E. (2009). Impact of reduced-risk insecticides on soybean aphid and associated natural enemies. Journal of economic entomology, 102(5), 1816-1826. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1603/029.102.0512
Patwari, A. B., (2019). Management of sucking insect-pests infesting groundnut. M.Sc. (Agri.) Thesis submitted to Vasantrao naik marathwada krishi vidyapeeth, Parbhani, India, p. 51.
Ruberson, J. R. & Greenstone, M. H. (1998). Predators of budworm/bollworm eggs in cotton: an immunological study. In Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf (Vol. 2).
Satpute, N. S., Katole, S. R., Nimbalkar, S. A., Sarnaik, D. N. & Satpute, U. S. (2001). Efficacy of imidacloprid and thiamethoxam as seed treatment against cotton jassids, Amrasca devastans Distant. Journal of applied zoological researches, 12(1), 88- 90.
Sunderland, K. D., Axelsen, J. A., Dromph, K., Freier, B. & Hemptinne, J. L. (1997). Pest control by a community of natural enemies. Acta Jutlandica, 72, 271–326.
Swarupa, Y., Elanchezhyan, K., Allwin, L., Aananthi, N. & Srinivasan, M. R. (2019). Efficacy of insecticide seed treatments against sucking pests and natural enemies in cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (Linn.) Walpers. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 8(3), 3982-3989.
Symondson, W. O. C., Sunderland, K. D. & Greenstone, M. H. (2002). Can generalist predators be effective biocontrol agents? Annual review of entomology, 47(1), 561-594. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.47.091201.145240
Varenhorst, A. J. & O’Neal, M. E. (2012). The response of natural enemies to selective insecticides applied to soybean. Environmental entomology, 41(6), 1565-1574. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1603/EN12068