ISHS Acta Horticulturae 703: II International Symposium on Sweetpotato and Cassava: Innovative Technologies for Commercialization
ECOLOGY-BASED INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF THE SWEETPOTATO WEEVIL IN INDIA |
| Authors: | M.S. Palaniswami, S. Chattopadhyay |
| Keywords: | IPM, Cylas formicarius, sex pheromone, kairomone |
| Abstract:
The production of sweetpotato is often hampered by the ubiquitous sweetpotato weevil. Feeding by the weevil renders the roots unfit for consumption due to the bitter and toxic sesquiterpenes produced. The concealed feeding habits of grubs and nocturnal habits of adults make the management of the pest a challenge. IPM strategies reported here are based on a number of experiments and observations over a period of 10 years, and involve behaviour manipulation (mass trapping of adult weevils using a sex pheromone) and agronomic practices based on the crop phenology and weevil life-table. The IPM package developed was a combination of weevil-free planting material, mulching with Calophyllum inophyllum or Bassia latifolia cake at 2 t ha-1 or mulching the plant base with leaves of Clerodendron infortunatum or Chromolaena odorata at 3 t ha-1, reridging, mass trapping of males through sex pheromone traps, preservation of biocontrol agents, disposal of harvest residues and early harvesting. This package was found to reduce weevil damage in the field and increase the number of marketable roots. It was successfully tested in farmers’ fields over 14 states of India. | |
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