Management strategy against litchi mite (Aceria litchii Keifer)
Rajeev Ranjan, U Mukherjee and Vijay Kumar
Litchi mite (Aceria litchii Keifer) is a serious threat to the litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonnerat) crop. The mite incidence can be effectively managed through pruning and destruction of affected twigs by burning during June and November along with soil application of neem cake (4 kg) and castor cake (1 kg) per tree just after the first shower of rainfall during the first fortnight of July and spraying of fenazaquin (0.15%) twice in 10 days intervals during flush emergence (September – October) where the leaf infestation was only 7.50 percent due to A. litchi followed by spray modules of kelthane (0.05%) which recorded 12.00 percent leaf infestation. The spray modules of pesticides with a combination of pruning and cake application were superior over the control (59.90 percent) and spraying of these pesticides alone. The impact of these treatments on the fruit yield (kg / tree) also varied significantly over the control. The maximum marketable fruit yield (131.40 kg / tree) was recorded with the spraying of fenazaquin with its combination, proved to be cost effective also (C / B = 1: 11.9).