Ecofriendly Management of Aphids (Macrosiphoniella pseudoartemisiae) on Dawana (Artemisia pallens)

Artemisia pallens is an aromatic herb or shrub, Xerophytic in nature. The flowers are racemose panicles it belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is commercially cultivated for its fragrant leaves and flowers. It grows from seeds and cuttings and reaches maturity in four months. The plant is woody in the lower part of the stem. Dawana crops are mostly grown in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu states in India. The aphids Macrosiphoniella pseudoartemisiae is the major pest of dawana in Maharashtra. Moreover the aphids are also major pest of Okra crop. The pooled results indicated that among the treatments tested the treatment Lecanicillium lecanii @ 8 g/lit was significantly superior over all other treatments and found to be most effective by recording minimum survival of aphid population i.e. 13.13 aphids per tiller per plant after the first spray and 4.05 aphids per tiller per plant after second spray with 70.04% pest control and found at par with the treatment Metarhizium anisopliae @ 8 g/lit. Lecanicillium lecanii @ 8 g/lit.- recorded maximum fresh herbage yield i.e. 104.54 q/ha.