Control of sorghum shootfly with insecticides applied as seed treatment or in furrows

Field trials were carried out in India during the rainy seasons of 1975 and 1976 to determine the effectiveness of some insecticides applied as seed treatments or in furrows against the sorghum pest Atherigona soccata Rond. Seed treatments with chlordimeform (chlorphenamidine) and acephate were ineffective against the pest and also adversely affected seed germination. A seed treatment of diazinon at 0.2 kg a.i./ha and a granular preparation of chlorpyrifos at 2.0 kg a.i./ha applied in the furrows proved effective in the first trial but not in the second. A seed treatment containing 5% carbofuran and granular formulations of 5% fensulfothion and 5% quinalphos applied in the furrows at 2.0 kg a.i./ha were highly effective against the pest, significantly reducing the formation of dead hearts and also resulting in significantly higher yields than the other treatments.ADDITIONAL ABSTRACT:Treatment of sorghum seed with 5% carbofuran or application of fensulfothion 5 G or quinalphos 5 G granules at 2 kg a.i./ha in the rows decreased Atherigona soccata incidence and increased the grain yields from 1.46 to 4.45 and 4.17 t/ha, resp