“ECOFRIENDLY MANAGEMENT OF MAJOR INSECT PESTS OF MAIZE”: -A CASE STUDY

Experiments were conducted to investigate seasonal incidence, biology and ecofriendly management of major insect pests of maize at the Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Parbhani during Rabi 2021-22. The population of fall armyworm and natural enemy, coccinellid beetle peaked during the 11th SMW during Rabi 2021-22 and the population of sucking pests was negligible. Evening relative humidity showed significant negative correlation with both fall armyworm and coccinellid beetle during Rabi 2021-22. Carbofuran showed the best results in managing pest population among the main treatments. Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana are the two biopesticides that potentially reduced the larval population, per cent plant damage and per cent cob damage caused by fall armyworm and increased the grain yield of maize considerably compared to untreated. The natural enemy, lady bird beetle was observed. Hence, biopesticides can be used for managing major insect pests of maize. Biopesticides can be the better alternative option to chemical insecticides for eco-friendly management.