ABSTRACT

Infestation of Leucinodes orbonalis Guenee (brinjal fruit and shoot borer) on Solanum melongena L. (brinjal/eggplant) is a huge distress to the farmers in India. Despite using latest hybrid plant varieties and advanced farming tools, there is a considerable yield loss to brinjal due to L. orbonalis. Chemical pesticides provide short term relief but their long term atrocities can’t be neglected. Globally, biointensive pest management (BIPM) programs utilizing Trichogramma spp. have advocated increased vegetable crop production with better fruit quality and higher commercial value. Considering the stimulation in behavioural responses of insect natural enemies by synomones derived from plant sources, present study was conceptualized. Synomonal extracts in hexane were prepared from leaf samples collected from vegetative and flowering stages of brinjal variety Pusa Uttam (DBR-31) grown in pots in laboratory and field conditions. The impact of four synomonal extracts were observed on Trichogramma chilonis Ishii, Trichogramma japonicum Ashmead and Trichogramma pretiosum Riley through petri-dish bioassays and their chemical composition was analysed through gas liquid chromatography (GLC). T. pretiosum exhibited highest foraging response among the three Trichogrammatids under the influence of synomones derived from vegetative stage field condition and this behavioural change may be attributed to the presence of docosane (C22), tetracosane (C24), pentacosane (C25) and tritriacontane (C33). Augmentative release of T. pretiosum along with formulation of the preferred alkanes may be utilized as a potential biological control agent in brinjal crop fields for eco-friendly and self-sustainable L. orbonalis management. Keywords: Alkanes, insect pest, Leucinodes orbonalis, natural enemy, parasitization, parasitoid, Solanum melongena
Publication date: 01/06/2020

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2020/June/MS_IJBPAS_2020_5092.pdf

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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2020/9.6.5092