Efficacy of Neem Based Formulations against Wheat Aphids under Semi-Arid Irrigated Conditions in South-West Punjab Pathania Mandeep, Kaur Jasreet*, Singh Beant1 Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Bathinda151001, Punjab, India 1Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana141004, Punjab, India *Email: jasreetgill@pau.edu (corresponding author)
Online Published on 04 January, 2024. Abstract Neem formulations viz. aqueous extract of neem and NSKE along with standard check thiamethoxam were evaluated for their efficacy against wheat aphids Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) and Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch). It was observed that aphids’ incidence on shoots started in the first week of January with a peak (40.90 aphids/ shoot) during third week of March. Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 50 g/ ha was found significantly superior giving 93.53% reduction after 7 DAS (days of spray). Different formulations of neem also yielded comparable results in controlling wheat aphids. Aqueous extract of neem @ 5 l/ ha resulted maximum (74.21%) reduction followed by NSKE @ 10% (69.04%) after 7 DAS. Occurrence of coccinellids was more in treatments with neem formulations than in thiamethoxam. The treatments resulted in 2.48- 9.25% increase in yield and it can be concluded that aqueous extract of neem and NSKE can be recommended over the most commonly used thiamethoxam for controlling wheat aphids. Top Keywords Wheat, Aphids, Rhopalosiphum padi, R. maidis, Coccinellids, Neem formulations, Thiamethoxam, Incidence, Population dynamics, Efficacy, NSKE, Yield. Top |