Development of an Integrated Pest Management Package for Effective Control of Spodoptera litura (Fab.) in Tropical Sugar Beet Production in Bangladesh

Abstract

Spodoptera litura (Fab.) can cause severe economic losses to sugar beet crops by reducing their production. To ensure risk-free tropical sugar beet production in Bangladesh, this study set out to develop an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) package to suppress S. litura. The most effective treatment was determined to be T10, which consists of a pheromone trap, hand picking, and Nitro 505EC. When compared to the control, the experimental plots treated with this treatment (T10) had the greatest effectiveness in lowering larval population, at 78.43% with a maximum percentage of Brix (19.50%) and Pol (12.00%), followed by T9 treated plots (pheromone trap + hand picking + Virtako 40WG), which had 18.66% Brix and 11.83 % Pol. In the T10 treated plot, the individual beet weight was 814.67 g, followed by 807.33 g in T9, and 722.67 g in T11 (the untreated control) plot. It suggests that beet output declined in correlation with the severity of insect infestation. The results show that using a combination of pheromone traps, hand picking, and Nitro 505EC effectively reduces S. litura infestation and maximizes crop production and quality. This might lead to safer and more sustainable ways to grow tropical sugar beets in Bangladesh.