Vol. 11, Issue 9 (2022)

Author(s):
Arensungla Pongen, Huirem Diana Devi, M Alemla AO, Pankaj Neog, Rumki Heloise CH Sangma and Bendangsenla

Abstract:
The negative impacts of insecticides have compelled the development of integrated approaches to manage tomato Pest complex. The two year research commenced on September 2019 - April 2020 and September 2020 - April 2021. The objective of this research study was to evaluate the impact of three different sowing dates and five varieties on the population dynamics of insect pests in tomato ecosystem. The insect pests recorded were green citrus aphid (Aphis spiraecola), green Looper (Chrysodeixis eriosoma) and fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera). The tomato planted on 23^rd October (D₃) recorded the highest number of aphid (11.07 aphid/plant) while for green looper the highest number (0.33 larva/plant) was recorded in D₁ (planted on 23^rd September). The incidence of fruit borer gradually increased and attained its peak fruit infestation of 7.58% on D₂ (planted on 8^th November). Crop varieties pusa rohini, Pusa Sheetal, rocky, sakata-914 and local cultivar were tested for its resistance against pest of tomato. The data reveals that local cultivar and Pusa Sheetal used in the study was comparably more resistant to aphid, Gren Looper and fruit borer infestation as compared to other varieties.