Pheromone-based integrated pest management to control the diamondback mothPlutella xylostella in cabbage fields

摘要

Biorational and regular insecticide applications were evaluated for management of the diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella in cabbage (Brassica oleracea var capitata) in Karnataka State, India, in 1996 and 1997. The IPM programme, based on the pheromone trap catch threshold of eight moths per trap per night, included utilization of the parasitoid Cotesia plutellae. (250000 adults ha(-1)), the predator Chrysoperla carnea (2500 eggs ha(-1)), the neem-based chemical nimbecidine (625ml ha(-1)), the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (500 ml ha(-1)), and the synthetic insecticide phosalone (2.8 litre ha(-1)). The IPM programme induced a reduction of trap catches, egg and larval populations and, therefore, a low level of damage to the crop. The economic analysis showed that the cost of the IPM treatments was also considerably lower than that of ordinary insecticide practice (average of