Assessing the bio-efficacy of novel insecticides against shoot and fruit borer Earias vitella (Fabricus) in okra

Abstract

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.), known as lady’s finger and part of the Malvaceae family, is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions. To assess pest control measures, field studies were conducted during the Summer of 2024 and Kharif 2024 at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, using okra var (Kashi Pragati). The randomized complete block design (RBD) included eight treatments, seven involving various insecticides, such as azadirachtin 300 ppm, quinalphos 25 EC, novaluron 10 EC, lambda-cyhalothrin 5 EC, and fipronil 5 SC, with recommended dose (RD) @ 2 mL/L, double dose (DD) @ 4 mL/L and half dose (HD) @ 1-mL/L, and a control with no insecticide. Infestation levels of E. vitella were recorded before and after treatment applications. Results indicated that all treatments effectively reduced infestation compared to the untreated control. The lowest fruit infestation and highest yields were achieved with (fipronil @ 4 mL/L), yielding 125.04 q/ha in Summer season and 147.04 q/ha in Kharif season, with significant yield increases over the control. The highest ICBR, 1:23.33 in Summer and 1:20.49 in Kharif was observed with (fipronil @ 1 mL/L). Therefore, the novel molecule fipronil can be effectively used to control okra shoots and fruit borer to achieve the higher production of okra.