Management of the aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), using biorational on capsicum under protected cultivation in India

The peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and silver leaf whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) are the major pests of capsicum under protected cultivation. The entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are environmentally safe than the chemical pesticides. In the present study, different EPF formulations, Beauveria bassiana Balsamo (Vuillemin), Lecanicillium lecanii (Zimmerman) Viegas, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin, were evaluated along with Azadirachtin 1% for the management of the aphid and the whitefly on capsicum under protected conditions. Result showed that talc formulation of L. lecanii MTCC 956 at 10 and 12 g/l caused 60.5 and 61.6% population reduction for aphid and 60.0 and 61.6% population reduction for whitefly, whereas Azadirachtin 1% at 4 and 5 ml/l caused 71.2 and 74.7% population reduction for aphid and 68.5 and 71.0% population reduction for whitefly after 3rd spray, respectively and were effective in reducing aphid and whitefly populations on capsicum recommending its organic production under protected cultivation and could be a part of integrated pest management program.