Informatics Publishing Limited

B. Kiran Gandhi ¹, Shekharappa ¹, R. A. Balikai

Affiliations
1 Department of Agricultural Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad Karnataka, IN

Abstract

Variant cultivars (varieties and hybrids) of sorghum were estimated for per cent earhead damage and yield loss caused by earhead caterpillar, Helicoverpa armigera. Within varieties DSV-6 recorded lowest per cent (26.66) earhead damage and high yield of 29.25 q/ha without taking protection. In plots where protection measures were taken with malathion DSV-6 recorded highest (95.0) per cent earhead avoidable damage but DSV-3 recorded highest per cent avoidable yield loss of 27.01. Among hybrids, CSH-14 and CSH-23 recorded lowest and equal (16.66) per cent earhead damage with yield of 36.22 and 37.66 q/ha, respectively in unprotected plots. Whereas in protected plots (malathion 5D), CSH-16 recorded highest (92.6) per cent of earhead avoidable damage but DSV-3 recorded highest per cent avoidable loss of 27.01. If we look out the results, 93.2 per cent of earhead avoidable damage and 17.46 per cent avoidable yield loss was noticed in protected plots over unprotected irrespective of cultivars.

Keywords

helicoverpa Armigera, Cultivars, Sorghum

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Sanjay M. Bandi ¹, G. Sivakumar ², B. Kiran Gandhi ¹

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur – 208024, Uttar Pradesh, IN
2 ICAR- National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR), Bengaluru – 560024, Karnataka, IN

Abstract

Baculoviruses, a diverse group of arthropod-specific viruses, have long been employed for the biological control of many economically significant insect pests on agricultural and forest crops all over the world. They are primarily pathogens of caterpillars and about 90 per cent are reported to cause diseases in members belonging to the order Lepidoptera. Baculoviruses have been attractive biological control agents because of their safety to vertebrates, other non-target fauna and high pathogenicity with host death being most likely outcome of an infection. They have an ability to persist outside the host insect by producing virions sequestered within the protein matrix and potential to trigger epizootics in insect population, thus being important factor in regulating the size of host insect population. Baculoviruses are relatively quick acting and lethal among the various insect pathogens infecting globally significant pest species. Considering the importance of baculoviruses in insect pest management, a review of the research work carried out is presented.

Keywords

Baculoviruses, Biological Control, Insect Pathogenic Viruses, Lepidopteran Pests.

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