Groundnut is an important oilseed crop which is cultivated in India.This crop can be damaged by a number of pests in which alphid is the most serious pests throughout India.For the protection of crop proper identification and management of this crops should be adopted.
Major pests of Groundnut are:-
Habitat management for pest – Above ground
- Raising the flowering plants / compatible cash crops along the field border by arranging shorter plants towards the main crop and taller plants towards the border to attract natural enemies as well as to avoid immigrating pest
- Growing flowering plants on the internal bunds inside the
- Not to uproot weed plants those are growing naturally like Tridax procumbens, Ageratum sp. Alternanthera sp., which act as a nectar source for natural enemies.
- Not to apply broad spectrum chemical pesticides, when the P: D is The plant compensation ability should also be considered before applying chemical pesticides.
Habitat management for pest – Below ground
- Crop rotations with leguminous plants which enhance nitrogen
- Keeping soils covered year-round with living vegetation and/or crop
- Adding organic matter in the form of FYM, Vermicompost, crop residue which enhances below ground biodiversity.
- Reducing tillage intensity so that hibernating natural enemies can be
- Applying balanced dose of nutrients using biofertilizers
- Apply mychorrhiza and PGPR
- Applying Trichoderma as a seed treatment and Pseudomonas fluorescens as seed, nursery treatment and soil application (If Commercial products are used, check for the label, However, biopesticides produced by farmers for own consumption in their fields, registration is not required).
Due to the enhancement of biodiversity by the flowering plants, parasitoids and predatory natural enemies number also will increase due to the availability of nectar, pollen, fruits, insects, etc. The major predators are a wide variety of spiders, ladybird beetles, long horne grasshoppers, Chrysoperla, Earwigs, etc.
Source-
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TamilNadu Agritech Portal
