IN-SITU DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSE OF AVAILABLE OKRA GERMPLASM TO THE INFESTATION OF LEPIDOPTEROUS BORERS, HELICOVERPA ARMIGERA AND EARIAS VITTELLA UNDER UNSPRAYED CONDITIONS.

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) is a summer vegetable and ranks among the major vegetables in tropical world including many Afro-Asian countries. However, this crop is attacked by many species of insect pests among which the most destructive species are okra fruit and shoot borers (Helicoverpa armigera and Earias vittella, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) which cause considerable loss to okra crop each year. As screening of plant material against insect pests is a cost-effective and eco-friendly pest management approach, this in-situ study evaluated 12 genotypes of okra for their relative tolerance or susceptibility against lepidopterous shoot and fruit borers under the indigenous agro-climatic conditions of Sargodha district. The experiment was conducted at research area College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Pakistan in April 2017 and was repeated again in April 2018. Experimental design was Randomised Complete Block Design and each treatment had three independent replications. Weekly data regarding the shoot and fruit infestation by lepidopterous borers were collected from randomly selected plants from each plot and were subjected factorial analyses of variance. Results revealed a significant differential response of okra genotypes to the incidence of shoot and fruit infestation by these okra borers. Genotypes sabzpari and green wonder were comparatively the most resistant or tolerant to borers' infestation exhibiting minimum shoot and fruit infestations (12-14 and 8-13%, respectively); while genotypes pusa swani and parbhani karanti were the most susceptible with maximum shoot and fruit infestations (36-40 and 20-21%, respectively). Moreover, crude protein content of fresh okra fruits was found significantly and negatively correlated with the mean percent fruit infestation. We therefore recommend sabzpari and green wonder to the indigenous farmers for commercial okra production and for better combating okra shoot and fruit borer infestations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]