author(s)
Byamukama Mwanika, Lokender Kashyap, Akshay Kumar Vats, Ram Singh, Anjana Kumari, Vikas Chauhan and Jatin

abstract
The current study was undertaken to assess the bio-efficacy of leaf extracts of Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss), Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.), a mixture of the three extracts, imidacloprid, and a control (water spray) against mustard aphid during two consecutive Rabi seasons of 2022-23 and 2023-24. The percentage reduction over control (PROC) values were calculated for each botanical extract to ascertain their effectiveness at 1, 3, 7 and 10 days after treatment. The pooled efficacy at 10 days after treatment revealed that Imidacloprid was the most potent, recording 100.0% reduction, followed by neem leaf extracts (82.79%), tobacco leaf extracts (78.76%), and the mixture treatment (77.41%), with marigold leaf extract displaying the lowest efficacy at 69.01%. A parallel trend was observed in seed yield, affirming the efficacy of these treatments in mitigating aphid-induced losses in mustard crops. The botanical extracts showed significant efficacy potentials and so can be used as substitutes for imidacloprid insecticide to manage the aphid in an eco-friendlier manner.