MANAGEMENT OF SEED CAPSULE BORER, HELICOVERPA ARMIGERA IN TOBACCO

Abstract

The seed capsule borer, Helicoverpa armigera Hubner is a serious pest of tobacco. Field experiments were conducted for two seasons (201416) to evaluate three different modules viz., bio intensive integrated pest management (BIPM), chemical control (CC) and IPM module along with untreated control for management of H.armigera in chewing tobacco. It was observed that the damage to the seed capsules was significantly less in all the modules compared to untreated control (21.25 28.40%). The capsule damage was least in chemical control module (4.50 - 9.70%) followed by IPM module (5.02 - 10.81%) both of which were superior to BIPM module (12.67 - 20.68%). The data on per cent plants infested with the pest also showed similar trend. The activity of the predator mired bug, Nesidiocoris tenuis was the highest in untreated control module followed by BIPM and IPM modules. The highest mean seed yield of 679 kg/ha was recorded in chemical control plot followed by IPM module (658 kg/ha) as against 569 kg/ha in BIPM module and 520 kg/ha in untreated check during the experimental period. The pest incidence, capsule damage and the seed yield was at par in chemical control and IPM modules. However, the population of predator, Nesidiocoris tenuis was more in IPM compared to CC module. Hence, IPM module can be adopted for management of the seed capsule borer, H.armigera in tobacco.