SYNTHESIS AND EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT PEST MANAGEMENT MODULES AGAINST VECTOR AND SUCKING PESTS OF BITTER GOURD

Bitter gourd, Momordica charantia Linn., is one of the most important traditional vegetable in India.  Infestations of sucking pests especially jassid, and whitefly occurred thorough out the crop growth period in the region. For ecofriendly management, different pest management modules viz., bio-intensive, chemical, and integrated modules were evaluated against these sucking pests and compared under field conditions during 2019–2021. Among the three tested modules, the integrated pest management (IPM) comprised seed treatment with imidacloprid @ 5–10 g kg-1 of seed, installation of yellow sticky traps @ 25–30 ha-1, border crop with maize, spraying of azadirachtin 1500 ppm @ 10 ml L-1, thiamethoxam @ 1 g 3-1 L, imidacloprid @ 1 g 12-1 L, cyantraniliprole @ 1.8 ml L-1, neem oil (0.5%) + Lecanicillium lecanii @  2.5 g L-1, and neem oil (0.5%) + Beauveria bassiana @  2.5 g L-1 from 20 to 70 days after sowing at 10 days intervals each harboured lowest whiteflies population (0.63 per leaf) with maximum per cent reduction over control of 70.14. The number of predatory lady bird beetles and polyphagous spiders were also higher. The highest healthy fruit yields (171, 179, and 153 q ha-1) were recorded from the IPM module for three consecutive years (2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively). In terms of return, maximum net profit of ₹71,211 was obtained from the IPM module with the highest incremental cost-benefit ratio of 1:5.18. Therefore, the IPM module could be a viable ecofriendly option in the management of the sucking pests of bitter gourd, along with the conservation of natural enemies.