ECO-FRIENDLY APPROACHES FOR MANAGEMENT OF LEAFHOPPERS AND APHIDS IN TOMATO

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most popular and widely grown vegetable crop of both tropics and subtropics of the world.It is a member of the family Solanaceae.Low tomato yields have been ascribed to a variety of issues, including poor seed quality, pest infestations and severe weather conditions.Insect pests are the most important of all known causes, causing significant losses at any stage of crop development.Many tomato producers are complaining about losses owing to sucking pests.Therefore, the study was carried out to compare the efficiency of different chemical insecticides against leafhoppers and aphids of tomato at Main Agriculture Research Station, Dharwad, Karnataka, during rabi, 2021-22.The experiment involves the treatments such as, T 1 -VC (2.5t/ha) + NC (2.5q/ha) followed by foliar spray of Azardirachtin 10000 ppm @ 2ml/L, T 2 -VC (2.5t/ha) + PC (2.5q/ha) followed by foliar spray of Azardirachtin 10000 ppm @ 2ml/L, T 3 -VC (2.5t/ha) + NC (1.25q/ha) + PC (1.25q/ha) followed by foliar spray of Azardirachtin 10000 ppm @ 2ml/L, T 4 -VC (2.5t/ha) + NC (2.5q/ha) followed by foliar spray of Pongamia oil @ 5ml/L, T 5 -VC (2.5t/ha) + PC (2.5q/ha) followed by foliar spray of Pongamia oil @ 5ml/L, T 6 -VC (2.5t/ha) + NC (1.25q/ha) + PC (1.25q/ha) followed by foliar spray of Pongamia oil @ 5ml/L, T 7 -VC (2.5t/ha) + NC (1.25q/ha) + PC (1.25q/ha), T 8 -Azardirachtin 10000 ppm @ 2ml/l + Pongamia oil @ 5ml/l, T 9 -RPP (Imidacloprid17.8SL @ 0.25ml/l), T 10 -Untreated check.Among the various treatments imposed, the VC (2.5t/ha) + NC (1.25q/ha) + PC (1.25q/ha) -Azardirachtin 10000 ppm @ 2ml/l was found effective in reducing the leafhoppers and aphids population.Highest fruit yield (35.25 t/ha) was recorded in VC (2.5t/ha) + NC (1.25q/ha) + PC (1.25q/ha) -Azardirachtin 10000 ppm @ 2ml/l.Similarly highest net return was registered in VC (2.5t/ha) + NC (1.25q/ha) + PC (1.25q/ha) -Azardirachtin 10000 ppm @ 2ml/l (1.18 lakh/ha).