Effect of insecticidal seed treatment on the germination of sorghum seed and the incidence of shoot fly, Atherigona soccata Rond.

Seeds of sorghum cv. CSH-5 were treated with 3, 4 or 5% aldicarb, 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5% diazinon or 5% carbofuran a.i. In a laboratory experiment there was no germination with the aldicarb treatments compared with >80% in all the other treatments and the untreated control. In the field, aldicarb treatments gave germination of 10.8-17.1% compared with 89.6-97.5% in the other treatments, indicating a slight reduction in its phytotoxic effects in the field. Diazinon did not reduce dead-heart incidence caused by A. soccata whereas carbofuran reduced it to 15.2% from 94% in untreated plots. Treatment with 5 parts 5% carbofuran a.i.:100 parts seed is recommended for adequate sorghum shoot fly control