Development and Evaluation of Farmers-Participatory Integrated Pest Management Technology in Groundnut

A study was conducted during kharif seasons of 2006 and 2007 for developing and validating of location specific bio-intensive Integrated Pest Management technology for groundnut crop in Sardarpura Ladana area, Sri Ganganagar district, Rajasthan. Four IPM modules were evaluated, of which the fourth one was farmers practice prevalent in the area (crop sown without any soil and seed treatment, and no sprays. Significantly higher pod yield (14.82 q/ha) was obtained from II'M module I (neem cake at 500 kg/ha 15 days before sowing, neem seed kernel extract (NSKF 5%) at seedling stage, bio-agents -Trichoderma harzianum at 10 g/kg seed, chemical - imidacloprid 17.8 SL at 2 ml/kg seed, biological -Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura pheromone traps at 5/ha, “T” shaped wooden bird perches at 10/ha and mechanical - summer ploughing 2–3 times during April-May before sowing to expose the hibernating pests). It gave 51.62% higher yield as compared to farmers' practice, where no plant protection measures were undertaken. The application of IPM module 1 generated higher gross returns (Rs29720.5/ha) and consequently higher net returns of Rs 24801.5/ha. The adoption of IPM module I yielded higher benefits of Rs 10564/ha concluding that it will provide higher yields and benefit to farmers.