Stemfly management in blackgram through intercropping

Abstract

Abstract: A field experiment was conducted at Breeder Seed Production Centre, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Debiganj, Panchagarh to investigate the possibility of stemfly, Ophiomyia phaseoli (Tryon) management in blackgram through intercropping during August to December 2004. The results revealed that all the intercrops (maize, brinjal and groundnut) significantly reduced larval and pupal population, percent stem tunneling per plant, percent infested plant and produced higher yield, higher gross and net return and offered higher BCR over sole blackgram. Among the intercrops, maize provided the greatest effect in reducing the pest incidence (8.44% stem tunneling/plant and 38.9% infested plant) and increasing the yield (1360 Kg/ha). The highest BCR was obtained from blackgram intercropped with maize (2.12) followed by groundnut (1.73) and brinjal (1.65).