Influence of organic and inorganic fertilizers and certain insecticides on the incidence of shoot and fruit borer, Leucinodes orbonalis Guen. infesting brinjal.

The influence of different fertilizers and certain selected insecticides on the damage potential of brinjal shdot and fruit borer, Leucinodes orbonalis Guen., was studied. Higher dose of potash (100 kg/ha) along with all the chemical treatments, viz., carbaryl 0.15% + dicofol 0.036%, malathion 0.1% and bifenthrin 0.01% were effective against this shoot and fruit borer, the per cent infestation being low i.e., 3.8, 3.9, 4.7 and 5.0, respectivcly. Also, the per cent fruits damaged on weight basis was low in these treatments; being 16.3, 15.1, 16.9 and 8.9, respectively. The lower dose of potash (30 kg/ha) resulted in higher shoot (14.4%) and fruit (44.3%) infestation and was at par with control. The highest marketable yield of fruits, viz., 7.7 and 6.7 ttha was recorded with bifenthrin and higher dose of potash, respectively. The lowest marketable yield of fruits, viz., 1.6 and 2.1 tlha, however, was obtained from plots treated with neem cake (2 t/ha) and vermicompost (6.6 t/ha). Also, FYM @ 25 tlha was practically ineffective in checking the shoot and fruit borer infestation.