Evaluation of some plant materials against pod borer infestation in country bean with reference to flower production

Abstract

Abstract : The study evaluated the efficacy of the aqueous extracts of black pepper, chili, turmeric, coriander, neem, basil and garlic plants, and oils of neem, eucalyptus and mahogany seeds against the infestation of pod borer, Maruca vitrata attacking country bean. The plant extracts and oil treatments were used with doses of 20 g/1 and 5ml /I water, respectively. In control treatment tap water was sprayed. The application of the treatments was started from the advent of infestation and repeated 6 times at 7 day interval. The mahogany and neem oils, and chili extract provided statistically lower level of pod infestation of country bean compared to other treatments. All the plant materials exerted statistically higher and significant infestation reduction over control, and did not affect flower production of the crop. Overall findings indicated that the neem oil, mahogany oil and black pepper powder may be considered as an effective option for the management of pod borer infesting country bean field in respect to flowering.