scholarly journals Farmers’ Perception about Major Insect Pests of Cucurbits and Their Management

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-170
Author(s):  
Subina Tripathi ◽  
Kabita Kumari Shah ◽  
Injila Tiwari ◽  
Jiban Shrestha

A survey was undertaken in five Village Development Committees (VDCs) of Lamjung District, Nepal from June to August 2018 to investigate major insect pests and their management practices in cucurbits. A total of ninety-five cucurbit growers were selected and interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. The study revealed that the major insect pests attacking cucurbits were fruit fly, red pumpkin beetle, aphid, whitefly, epilachna beetle, cucurbit sting bug, cutworm, and blister beetle. The majority of farmers responded that fruit fly was the most prevalent insect pest, followed by aphid and red pumpkin beetle. Most of the farmers used chemical methods, that includes biological, mechanical, and cultural techniques to control the insects. For the mechanical method, they used sex-pheromone traps i.e. cue-lure. Among botanical pesticides, Neem (Azadirachta indica), Malabar Nut (Justicia adhatoda), Chinaberry (Melia azedarch), Mugwort (Artemisia spp.) were used. Commonly used insecticides by farmers were Cypermethrin, Dimethoate, Malathion, and Endosulfan. The indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides resulted in pest resistance, resurgence, and sometimes outbreak of insect pests. Majority of farmers were using chemical methods to control pests. Apart from this, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) was also adopted for good agricultural practices (GAP) to prevent chemical hazards on human health and the environment. To control insect pests, trained farmers should be encouraged to follow the sanitation of fields and protection of natural enemies by avoiding the use of pesticides a long as possible.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sardul Singh Sandhu ◽  
Anil K. Sharma ◽  
Vikas Beniwal ◽  
Gunjan Goel ◽  
Priya Batra ◽  
...  

The growing demand for reducing chemical inputs in agriculture and increased resistance to insecticides have provided great impetus to the development of alternative forms of insect-pest control. Myco-biocontrol offers an attractive alternative to the use of chemical pesticides. Myco-biocontrol agents are naturally occurring organisms which are perceived as less damaging to the environment. Their mode of action appears little complex which makes it highly unlikely that resistance could be developed to a biopesticide. Past research has shown some promise of the use of fungi as a selective pesticide. The current paper updates us about the recent progress in the field of myco-biocontrol of insect pests and their possible mechanism of action to further enhance our understanding about the biological control of insect pests.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
AMAR BAHADUR BAHADUR

Entomopathogens are microorganisms that pathogenic to insect pest. Several species of naturally occurring viz; fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes, infect a variety of insect pests and play an important role in agricultural crops controlling insect pest management.  This kind of biopesticide has many advantages and alternative to chemical insecticides, highly specific, safe, and environmentally sustainable. Pest problems are an almost inevitable part of agriculture. They occur largely because agricultural systems are simplified and modifications of natural ecosystems. Viruses, bacteria are host specific and fungi generally have broader host range and can infect both underground and aboveground pests, soil-dwelling nature nematodes are more suitable for managing soil pests. Growing crops in monoculture provides concentrated food resource that allows pest populations to achieve higher densities in natural environments. Some of the most important problems occur when pests develop resistance to chemical pesticides. These cause highly significant damage to crops, there are also threats from emerging new strains of pests. Crops cultivation can make the physico-chemical environment more favourable for pest activity. Agricultural pests are reducing the yield and quality of produce by feeding on crops, transmitting diseases. Agricultural production significantly loss crop yields, suggest that improvements in pest management are significant forward for improving yields. Crop growers are under immense pressure to reduce the use of chemical pesticides without sacrificing yields, but at the same time manage of pests is becoming difficult due to pesticide resistance and the decreasing availability of products. Alternative methods are needed urgently. These need to be used as part of Integrated Pest Management safety and environmental impact.  


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 18-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oladele Abiodun Olaniran ◽  
Samuel Adelani Babarinde ◽  
Adeola Foluke Odewole ◽  
Peter Ademola Aremu ◽  
Kehinde Popoola

Surveys were carried out in five local government areas of Ogbomoso Agricultural Zone Nigeria during planting season in 2010 to investigate rural farmers perceptions and management practices of insect pests of fruit vegetables. The survey involved 150 randomly selected farmers who were interviewed using structured questionnaire. Fruit vegetables planted by the farmers were okra, tomatoes, pepper and garden egg. Reasons given by farmers for cultivating fruit vegetables were significantly favored by age category, educational qualification, and secondary occupation of farmers (x2 = 4.757, P = 0.029). Field insect pests were perceived as the major production constraint to fruit vegetables in this zone. Majority of the farmer estimated 78.4 % rated insect pest as the most serious pest infesting fruit vegetables, the insect pests were grasshopper (Orthoptera), beetles (Coleoptera) and caterpillar (Lepidoptera). Integrated pest management module consisted basically of chemical and cultural control strategies, with weeding, shifting cultivation and crop rotation as main cultural control methods. More than 76.7 % of the farmers make use of cultural control because of unavailability and cost of chemical insecticides. Only 23.3 % had access to chemical insecticides in controlling insect pest of fruit vegetables.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarekegn Fite ◽  
Tadele Tefera ◽  
Mulugeta Negeri ◽  
Mulugeta Negeri ◽  
Hirpa Legesse

Survey were undertaken in five zones of Oromiya and Amhara regional states, Ethiopia from February to March 2018 to investigate farmers’ status, knowledge, major chickpea production constraints and insect pest management practices of chickpea. The survey involved 293 randomly taken farmers, who are interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Chickpea insect pests were considered as the main, among production constraints of chickpea by most of the interviewed farmers in Ethiopia. The majority of the farmers’ responded that Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is the most prevalent insect pests of chickpea under field condition and Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) in storage. Development Agents (DAs) were the top pest advisory service providers in the current study. A conventional insecticide (namely; Lambda-cyhalotrin and Dimethoate) for the control of H. armigera was the most commonly used pest management methods. Moreover, Two times insecticide applications per cropping season were the most frequent, deployed by most of the interviewed farmers followed by cultural pest management practices. Use of biological control and resistant chickpea varieties against major insect pests were low to negligible in the current survey study in the area. The majority of the farmers began control decision when H. armigera larval stages were smaller and they did not consider larval number per chickpea plant for the decision. These results will be used to formulate future effective and sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) in chickpea for Ethiopian farmers emphasizing ecologically and economically-based approaches.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (04) ◽  
pp. 17952-17971
Author(s):  
Gabriel Michael ◽  
◽  
AMS Nyomora ◽  
EF Mvungi ◽  
EM Sangu ◽  
...  

Tomato is a highly cultivated vegetable in Tanzania. The intensive tomato cultivation and production in Tanzania has resulted in high pests and diseases build-up. A survey to identify and quantify entomofauna diversity in different seasons and pest management practices in Meru District was conducted. In addition, a laboratory experiment was done to assess the effectiveness of commonly used pesticides SnowBecco (Thiamethoxam)and Belt (Flubendiamide) against two dominating insect pests, white flies (Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius, 1889)) and leaf miner (Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917)), respectively. The results obtained revealed that, tomato fields in Meru District had significantly higher entomofauna build up during dry season than the rainy season (U0.05 (df, 24)= 45, p = 0.0441). More than 70% of all collected entomofauna were dominated by the whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) and tomato leaf miners (Tuta absoluta) belonging to orders Hemiptera and Lepidoptera, respectively. It was also observed that, the common pesticides management practices were the use of pesticidal cocktail, broad spectrum insecticides, use of botanical pesticides, frequent application of pesticide and insecticides over dosage. Moreover, yield reduction due to whiteflies and tomato leaf miners infestation were observed in terms of reduced fruits number per plant (38 and 18.4%), fruit size (22.4 and 14.2%), and fruits weight per plant by 43.6 and 26.2%, for Bemisia tabaci and Tuta absoluta, respectively. The study showed that the recommended doses in both tested insecticides caused significant pest mortality (F0.05 (df, 19) = 4.367, p = 0.0199) and (F0.05(df, 19) = 4.761, p = 0.0147) for B. tabaci and T. absoluta, respectively, within a specified period of time. The results suggest that high insect pest infestations could be caused by factors other than development of insecticidal tolerance including inappropriate identification of insect pests due to lack of training, and inappropriate selection and application of insecticides. Consequently, frequent application of broad spectra insecticides not only increases production expenses but also disrupts agroecosystem by killing beneficial entomofauna and disrupting soil organisms that are susceptible to insecticide toxicity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 238-243
Author(s):  
Anjali Gyawali ◽  
Bandana Regmi ◽  
Rameshwor Pudasaini ◽  
Namuna Acharya

A study on diversity and abundance of insects in rice field was conducted at farmer field of Lamahi, Dang during July to October in 2019. Insects were collected using sweep net and light trap. Overall, 414 insect specimen representing 11 families and 8 orders were collected during the period. Grasshopper (23.98%) with including all species was the most abundance insect found in rice field as it followed by brown plant hopper (16.62%). Among the eight insect orders captured Orthoptera (29.16%) was the most abundance insect order followed by Homoptera (16.62%). As the diversity of insect pest in this area may responsible economic losses was found which will be useful to adapt appropriate management practices to keep them at normal area. The presence of natural enemies should conserve to enhance the natural biological control of insect pests.


Author(s):  
M. M. Sebitia ◽  
M. Sekoli ◽  
P. V. Masupha

Protected farming is one of the innovations used by farmers to control pests and climatic conditions and therefore improve yield of vegetables. However, these structures also provide an ideal environment for biotic factors such as insect pests and diseases. In this study, a survey of 60 farmers was conducted to determine the types of vegetables cultivated under protected structures, insect pests and management practices employed by farmers using structured questionnaires. Data was analysed through descriptive statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results showed that most farmers grew tomato, cabbage, swiss chard, rape and peppers. Farmers considered insect pests as the major constraint to vegetable production. The most important insect pests found infesting farmers’ vegetables were aphids (Aphis gossypii), tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta), bagrada bug (Bagrada hilaris) and cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon). To manage these pests, farmers relied heavily on chemical pesticides which are dangerous to them and to the environment. It is therefore important to develop an integrated pest management plan that farmers can use to reduce use of pesticides.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
William Tolosa ◽  
Eduardo Amador Peña

<p>En Colombia se han detectado diversas especies de insectos plaga que afectan la palma de aceite en las cuatro zonas geográficas en las cuales se encuentra establecido este cultivo permanente. Algunas prácticas de control no han sido las más adecuadas, lo que ha originado desequilibrios en los agroecosistemas que inciden sobre la entomofauna naturalmente asociada al cultivo, ocasionando el incremento de las poblaciones de insectos plaga ya conocidos y el surgimiento de especies desconocidas que, por sus hábitos alimenticios y reproductivos, deben considerarse como plagas potenciales. La aparición de <em>Memphis </em>sp<em>. </em>(Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) en la zona productora de Tumaco (Nariño) puede representar uno de esos casos, pues muestreos foliares efectuados durante 2005 en lotes de palma de aceite de seis años de edad plantados en la Estación Experimental El Mira de Corpoica, registraron poblaciones de hasta 4 larvas/hoja que superan la baja infestación previamente reportada de 1 larva/hoja. Este trabajo se realizó para establecer la biología y hábitos de <em>Memphis </em>sp<em>. </em>en la zona de Tumaco (Nariño) y aportar al conocimiento del ciclo de vida de este insecto.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Biology of Memphis sp. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae): a potential pest of oil palm in the western Colombian coast</strong></p><p>In Colombia several species of insect pest affect oil palm in each of the four geographical zones where it is planted. Some management practices have not been adequately performed and agroecosystem imbalances have resulted, with negative impacts on the natural entomofauna associated to this crop, causing increases of insect pests already present and given rise to potential new pests mainly because of their feeding and reproductive habits. The report of Memphis sp. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Tumaco (Nariño) could be such a case. Foliar surveys done on 2005 in six year old palms at the El Mira Research Station of Corpoica, reported populations of 4 larvae/leaf, an increase from the low lever infestation of 1 larvae/leaf previously reported. This study reports on the insect life cycle and the biology and habits of Memphis sp.</p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 111-115
Author(s):  
Suprava Malik ◽  
Amitava Banerjee ◽  
A. Samanta

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of integrated management practices over farmers’ practices against insect pest complex of green gram (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) during kharif season in the ‘A-B’ Block Farm of Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya in 2019. The results revealed that the incidence of all of the insect pests viz. whitefly, pulse aphid, jassid, flower thrips, gram pod borer, spotted pod borer, blue butterfly, plant bug and pod bug was recorded comparatively less in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plot as compared to farmers’ practices. The seed yield of green gram was also recorded a higher (1382.22 kg ha-1) in plots treated with integrated approaches as compared to farmer’s practices (476.94 kg ha-1). IPM module recorded maximum cost benefit ratio along with higher gross return and net profit as against farmers’ practices.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther L Nampeera ◽  
Gail R Nonnecke ◽  
Sue L Blodgett ◽  
Sharon M Tusiime ◽  
Dorothy M Masinde ◽  
...  

Abstract Amaranth (Amaranthus L.) species are grown for their grain or leaves and contribute to farmers’ livelihoods and nutritional food security. Leafy amaranth (LA) is consumed widely as a vegetable in Kenya. An assessment of current farmers’ knowledge of pest management practices provides information about future educational needs. Six-hundred LA farmers were interviewed, focus group discussions with farmers, and interviews with key informants were completed in four Kenyan counties. The majority (71%) of survey respondents grew LA on less than 0.25 acre (<0.1 ha) and 59.2% were female. Constraints of LA production differed by counties surveyed. Farmers indicated insects and birds were important in Kiambu and Kisumu counties, whereas in Vihiga and Kisii, capital, markets, and land area for production were important. Farmers stated and ranked importance of the insects they observed during LA production. Eighty-seven percent stated aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae), as a major pest and 96.8% ranked aphids as the number-one insect pest of LA in all four counties. Two other pests of LA included cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (0.8%) and spider mites, Tetranychus spp (Trombidiformes; Tetranychidae) (0.7%). Forty-two percent of all LA farmers managed aphids, with 34% using synthetic insecticides and 8% using nonsynthetic methods. Biological controls and host-plant resistance were not mentioned. Educational programs that train farmers about integrated pest management (IPM) in LA production are needed. Future research should determine successful IPM strategies for aphids on LA to reduce insecticide use and improve sustainability and nutritional food security for small-landholder farmers and consumers.


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