FIELD EVALUATION OF NATURAL ORGANIC PREPARATIONS AGAINST THRIPS, SCIRTOTHRIPS DORSALIS POPULATION ON GROUNDNUT, ARACHIS HYPOGAEA

Various organic insecticidal preparations were made from Neem leaf extract 5%, cow urine 10%, Datura leaf powder, Lantana leaf extract 5%, Ipomoea leaf extract 5%, eucalyptus leaf powder, and cow dung ash. These preparations were evaluated against thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Distant infesting groundnut, Arachis hypogaea L. under field conditions. All treatments were significantly effective compared to the control. Neem leaf extract at 5% was highly effective and reduced the mean number of thrips to 1.93 adults/terminal shoot compared to 6.47 adults in controls. In other treatments, the population on average was in the order of 2.36 adults/terminal shoot in cow urine 10% treatment, 2.88 adults in Datura leaf powder treatment, 3.47 adults in Lantana leaf extract 5% treatment, 3.67 adults in Ipomoea leaf extract 5% treatment, and 4.24 adults in Eucalyptus leaf powder treatment. Although the least effective among treatments, with 4.74 insects/terminal shoot, cow dung ash still showed statistical superiority over the control, which had the highest thrips population at 6.47 adults.. KEYWORDS :Botanicals, Groundnut, Organic insecticides, Population reduction, Scirtothrips dorsalis, Thrips