Efficacy of different insecticides and biopesticide against wheat aphid
KS Matharu and PS Tanwar
Wheat, Triticum aestivum L. is an important winter cereal crop in India. Punjab is one of the major wheat producing state. Like other states of India, every year wheat crop in the state of Punjab is also infected by complex species of aphid, which consist of Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), R. padi (L.), Sitobion avenae (F.) and S. miscanthi (Takahashi). Therefore, an on farm trial was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of different insecticides (Confidor 17.8 SL @ 100 ml ha-1, Monocil 36 SL @ 1000 ml ha-1) and biopesticide (Indoneem 1500 ppm @ 1200 ml ha-1) against wheat aphid during Rabi season 2018. All the insecticides and biopesticide significantly reduced the aphid infestation; however, on numerical basis Confidor 17.8 SL appeared as most effective with minimum infestation (0.67 aphid/ear) assessed fifteen days after application. Grain yield of treatment with Confidor 17.8 SL @ 100 ml/ha was found with highest yield (51.55 q/ha) and superior than other treatments including control. Benefit-cost ratio (BCR) calculated for different insecticidal treatments also revealed that Confidor 17.8 SL @ 100 ml/ha was found most cost effective (1:6.65) as compared to other insecticides.