Bioefficacy of horticultural mineral oil against spider mite, Tetranychus truncatus Ehara (Prostigmata: Tetranychidae) on okra

A field study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of horticultural mineral oil (HMO), combination of HMO + neem oil and neem oil 2 per cent along with a synthetic acaricide, Spiromesifen 240SC and an untreated control against Tetranychus truncatus on okra during March, 2018. The plots treated with HMO at 2.5 (92.60%) and 3.0 per cent (93.90%) as well as combination treatments HMO 2.5 per cent + neem oil 2.0 per cent (94.14%) and HMO 3.0 per cent + neem oil 2.0 per cent (96.79%) recorded significant reduction in mite population and were superior to plots treated with either spiromesifen (91.08%) or neem oil alone at 2.0 per cent (90.42%). The high efficacy of HMO against the spider mite T. truncatus brought out in the study suggests that HMO can be an effective tool for mite management in vegetable crops.