Efficacy of Some Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Techniques against Okra Shoot and Fruit Borer (Earias vittella Fab.)

Abstract

The experiment was laid out at the central field of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh during February 2022 to June 2022 to determine the efficacy of some integrated pest management tools against okra shoot and fruit borer (Earias vittella Fab.) in okra. The study comprised of seven treatments, viz. T1= Barrier crop (maize), T2= T-Bird perches 2m long@ 3/plot at distinct distances, T3= Pheromone trap@ 15/ha with lures, T4= Hand picking of larvae at regular basis, T5= Bacillus thuringiesis through two applications of Bt toxin on vegetative and flowering stage@ 1g/liter of water, T6= Proclaim 5 SG (Emamectin Benzoate) @ 1g/liter of water and NLE (neem leaf extract) @ 3g/liter of water, T7= untreated control. All the sprayings were done at 7 days interval. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. All the treatments were applied in okra at different developmental stages against shoot and fruit borer. Among the treatments, T6 gave maximum number of shoots (15.07) with less infested shoots (1.95) and infestation percentage was minimum (12.93). At the same time, the highest shoot infestation percentage (63.40) was also recorded from T7 treatment. The minimum fruit infestation (8.77) was also obtained from T6 treatment with minimum fruit infestation percentage (24.89), whereas; again, T7 illustrated maximum infestation percentage (44.36) of fruit. The treatment T6 yielded maximum (14.78 t/ha) okra that is very close to T5 (13.72 t/ha) and T4 (13.50 t/ha). So, the treatment T6 showed the best performance compared to rest other treatments. But considering the environmental and human health issues, farmers can use the T5 and T4 as they don’t involve any risk factor compared to chemical pesticides as well as their yield is approximately same as to T6 treatment.