Bioefficacy of botanicals against Spodoptera litura and Helicoverpa armigera on tobacco

摘要

The tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura and tobacco bud worm, Helicoverpa armigera are the major limiting factors of productivity of Flue Cured Virginia tobacco (FCV) in Andhra Pradesh. There are very stringent regulations on the use of chemical insecticides on tobacco and the guidance residue levels of insecticides on the cured leaf are very low. It has been a major research concern to evolve eco-friendly botanical insecticides against major pests of FCV tobacco so as to reduce the insecticide load on the crop and avoid their residues. The present study was initiated in this direction and three plant species, Andrographispaniculata, Phyllanthus amarus and Clerodendron inerme were tested for their bioactivity against the two major lepidopterous pests, S. litura and H. armigera so as to identify an effective botanical pesticide against them.