Screening of different insecticides against Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner)(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and its effect on yield of tomato crop

To investigate the comparative efficacy of different insecticides against tomato fruit borer (Helicoverpaarmigera) a study was conducted at Agricultural Research InstituteTarnab, Peshawar during 2016.Experiment was conducted using RCBD design and each treatment was replicated three times.Treatments include Emamectin Benzoate, Radiant, Trycard, Proclaim and control.All the treatments were applied twice with 10 days interval and data was recorded at different time intervals (24hrs, 48hrs, 72hrs, 5days, 7days and 10 days).Results revealed that in both the spray application of insecticides lowest mean of larval population was recorded in the plots treated with Radiant followed by Emamectin Benzoate, Trycard and Proclaim respectively.Control demonstrated the highest mean larval infestation.Similarly, the yield data revealed that the highest mean yield was recorded in the plot treated with Radiant (9452 kg ha -1 ) while control showed minimum yield (5608 kg ha -1 ).Most elevated percent weight loss (43.82 %) was recorded in check plot and the lowest percent weight loss (13.35 %) was recorded in the plot treated with Radiant.It was concluded that use of different insecticides not only reduced fruit losses but also increased yield.However, the insecticide radiant is recommended to be used in IPM programs against tomato fruit worm because of their quick biodegradable behavior and availability in the market at economical prices.