Vol.12_No.2 - Pesticide Alternatives Lab - Michigan State University

Tetranychus urticae Koch. At 24 hrs aftertreatment, two spotted spider mites survived but mostwere immobilized at concentrations of 1, 4, and 8 ppm;at 16 ppm, two spotted mite mortality was >70% aftertreatment. Survival and mobility of two spotted spidermites were significantly affected at high concentrationsof 4 and 8 ppm (almost all survivors wereimmobilized). Singh and Singh (1992) have reportedthe effectiveness of dicofol against this mite. Dicofoland phosalone were statistically on par with untreatedcontrols but superior to the rest, indicating that they didnot induce any mite resurgence but rather becameineffective against the mite.Kumar and Singh (1999) had earlier reported thatthe menace of spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch,has been identified as major problem of okra duringsummer months. In this experiment, neem-basedformulations and conventional acaricides were used forthe study of resurgence. The results indicated thatphosphamidon, fenvalerate, and dimethoate showedresurgence of spider mites. The neem-basedformulation (azadirachtin) showed encouragingperformance but showed resurgence.Kumar et al. (2001) reported that some pesticidesshow resurgence of two spotted mite viz.,phosphamidon + 128.51% and dimethoate + 118.18%,while azadirachtin shows encouraging performances +14.89 % resurgence. Resurgence was not noticed byacaricides viz., dicofol - 67.78 % and phosalone - 16.06%.Kumar et al. (2002) reported that no resurgencewas observed with dicofol (EC), dicofol (WP),abamectin, and phosalone, whereas encouragingperformance but some resurgence was noticed withethion (50%EC) and sulphur (80%WP). However,resurgence in mahua oil, PSKE, pungum oil, neem oil,azadirachtin, and NSKE did not show any effectivenessagainst this pest.REFERENCESKumar, Sunil and, R.N. Singh. 1998. Bio-efficacy of neem pesticide onTetranychus urticae Koch as compared with some conventionalacaricide. ANACON-98, Mumbai, Abstract. 6.Kumar, Sunil and R.N. Singh. 1999. Studies on resurgence of spider mite(Tetranychus urticae) on okra, National Symposium on Biologicalcontrol of insects in Agriculture, Forestry, Medicine and VeterinarySciences. Abstract and Souvenir. 9.Kumar, Sunil; Surendra Prasad, and R.N. Singh. 2001. IntegratedManagement of Two spotted mite Tetranychus urticae Koch onokra crop. Symposium on Biological control Based Managementfor Quality Crop Protection in the Current Millennium. Proceedingof symposium, July 18-19, PAU, Ludhiana, India, 193-194.Kumar, S.; S. Prasad, and, R.N. Singh. 2002. Resurgence of Two SpottedMite, Tetranychus urticae Koch. (Acarina: Tetranycidae) due toAcaricides and Botanicals on Okra. Ann.Pl. Protec. Sci. 10 (2): 239-242.Rai, A. B.; G. R. Bhanderi and C. B. Patel. 1993. Effectiveness of neembasedproducts (Azadirachtin) against Tetranychus macfarlanei(Tetranychidae) on okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.). Moench andtheir safety to predatory mites. Neem Newsl. 10 (1-2): 26.Singh, R. N.; I. N. Mukherjee; R. K. Singh and J. Singh. 1989. Evaluationof some pesticides against Red spider mite, Tetranychus ludeniZacher on cowpea. The first Asia Pacific Conference ofEntomology, 566 -569.Singh, R.N. and J. Singh. 1992. Evaluation of some pesticides againstcarmine mite, Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisd.) on Lady's finger.Pestology. 16 (2): 20-23.Zhi-Qiang Zhang and John P. Sanderson. 1990. Relative Toxicity ofAbamectin to the Predatory Mite Phytoseiulus persimilis (Acari:Phytoseiidae) and Two spotted Spider Mite (Acari: Tetranychidae),Journal of Economic Entomology 83(5), 1783-1790.S. Kumar, S. Prasad & R. N. SinghUPCAR- MITE PROJECTDepartment of Entomology & Agricultural ZoologyInstitute of Agricultural SciencesBanaras Hindu UniversityVaranasi - 221 005IndiaInsecticide Usage Patterns in South Indian Cotton Ecosystems to Control Cotton Bollworm, HelicoverpaarmigeraCotton, as an important commercial crop of India,has boosted the economic conditions of farmersespecially when introduced under irrigation. Thetraditional cotton ecosystem of South India is spreadover Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, andTamil Nadu where the well-known block cotton soilshave prevailed, both under assured irrigation andrainfed situations. A complex of insect pests in Indiahas damaged cotton and pulse crops. The cottonbollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, has been a majorpest with severe economic consequences and hasinflicted huge crop losses ranging from 47-90%. As aresult, cotton crops grown over only 5% of the totalcultivated area have consumed more than 55% of thetotal amount of pesticides used in India (1). The cottonbollworm has attained the status of a national pestowing to its devastative nature on cotton and othercrops in India and elsewhere. Frequent outbreaks ofHelicoverpa armigera in India on cotton crops havelead to severe social disturbances, with several reportsof suicide by farmers (2). To combat the unprecedentedH. armigera pressure, farmers in the region haveapplied synthetic pyrethroids or organophosphateinsecticides - sometimes as mixtures at 2-3 dayintervals - during critical periods, resulting in over 30sprays (against the recommended 8-10 sprays). Thishas led to the development of high levels of insecticideresistance in the cotton ecosystem (1). During 1992-1997, crop failure in many states of the South Indiancotton ecosystem, particularly Andhra Pradesh andKarnataka, was followed by the suicide of several