EVALUATION OF NEW MOLECULES OF INSECTICIDES AGAINST WHITEFLY AND THRIPS ON TOMATO.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most popular and widely grown vegetable crop of both tropics and subtropics of the world. It is a member of the family Solanaceae. Low tomato yields have been ascribed to a variety of issues, including poor seed quality, pest infestations and severe weather conditions. Insect pests are the most important of all known causes, causing significant losses at any stage of crop development. Many tomato producers are complaining about losses owing to sucking pests. Therefore, the study was carried out to compare the efficiency of different chemical insecticides against whitefly and thrips of tomato at Main Agriculture Research Station, Dharwad, Karnataka, during rabi, 2021-22. The experiment involved the treatments such as, T1-Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 0.25 g/l, T2-Dinotefuron 20 SG @ 0.4 g/l, T3-Diafenthiuron 50 WP @ 1.0 g/l, T4-Acetamiprid 20 SP @ 0.2 g/l, T5-Flonicamid 50 WG @ 0.3 g/l, T6 - Spiromesifen 22.9 SC @ 1.0 ml/l, T7 - Spirotetramat 24 SC @ 0.5 ml/l, T8 - Untreated check. Among the various treatments imposed, the flonicamid 50 WG @ 0.3 g/l and dinotefuran 20 SG @ 0.4 g/l were found effective in reducing the whitefly and thrips population. Highest fruit yield was recorded in flonicamid 50 WG @ 0.3 g/l (39.00 t/ha) followed by dinotefuran 20 SG @ 0.4 g/l (37.00 t/ha). Similarly, the highest net return was registered in flonicamid 50 WG @ 0.3 g/l (1.83 lakh/ha) followed by dinotefuran 20 SG @ 0.4 g/l (1.60 lakh/ha). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]