Effect of Duration of Pigeonpea Cultivars and Intercropping on Pod Borders

The pod and grain damage caused by various pod borers varied significantly among three cultivars of pigeonpea. The pod damage by Helicoverpa armigera, Exelastis atonwsa and Melanogromyza obtuse was significantly high in long duration pigeonpea (15.6,8,9 and 19.6%, respectively) followed by medium duration (MD) and short duration (SD) pigeonpea, The pod damage by Maruca vitrata was more (16.4%) in SD pigeonpea than the MD pigeonpea (5.3%) and LD pigeonpea (3.8%). The intercropping also caused significant variation in pod and grain damage by pod borers, Castor and sorghum as intercrops reduced the pod damage by M. vitrata, H. armigera and M. obtusa, significantly. The grain damage by lepidopteran borers was less in SD pigeonpea followed by MD and LD pigeonpeas. SD pigeonpea + sorghum, MD pigeonpea + sorghum and SD pigeonpea + castor had low pod and grain damage with significant higher equivalent yields and land equivalent ratios.