Abstract
Amaranthus is a protein rich grain that is commonly cultivated as a leafy vegetable. Insect pests (63.2%), marketing (22.4%) and weather parameters (14.4%) acted as the major constraints in amaranthus production. Among the constraints, infestation by numerous insect pests that feed on different plant parts such as stem, leaves, flowers and seeds had greater negative impact on amaranthus production. A total number of 92 insect pests from 11 different orders have been documented in cultivated amaranthus. Among them, the leaf webber, Hymenia recurvalis Fab. (Crambidae : Lepidoptera) and stem weevil, Hypolixus truncatulus (Curculionidae: Coleoptera) were considered as major threat to the farmers. Leaf webber, H. recurvalis caused the maximum damage through webbing and defoliation up to 8.8%. Stem weevil, H. truncatulus resulted in 12.6% damage, while, the damage was up to 7.3% due to white grub, the root feeder. Almost all the amaranthus farmers relied on chemical pesticides for the management of insect pests of amaranthus. A field survey on pesticide usage pattern in amaranthus was undertaken in three amaranthus growing blocks of Coimbatore district viz., Sultanpet, Karamadai and Thondamuthur. Most of the farmers (73.3 %) used chlorantraniliprole for managing the insect pests infesting amaranthus. Around 66 per cent of the farmers used organic pesticide (Exodus) as an alternate next to chlorantraniliprole. Percentage of farmers using imidacloprid, flubendiamide, panchakavya and jeevamrutham for crop protection represent 53.3, 33.3 and 13.3 per cent, respectively.
Highlights
Amaranthus (Amaranthus spp) is widely cultivated as a leafy vegetable in India, grown during the summer and rainy seasons
Amaranthus leaves are used as a vegetable and the seeds are used as a cereal (Ezeh et al, 2015)
Sixty insect species associated with amaranthus crop were identified, among which H. recurvalis Fab. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) having the highest percentage of incidence on the foliage up to 8.8%
Summary
(Lepidoptera: Crambidae) having the highest percentage of incidence on the foliage up to 8.8%. This leaf webber causes severe losses to amaranthus. Severe attack results in complete skeletonization and drying up of the leaves within a short time This has necessitated the management of insect and non-insect pests of amaranthus species. Chemical insecticides played a significant role in plant protection against these pests, especially in commercial amaranthus cultivation. This scenario necessitated the development and application of new chemical insecticides that are more effective in pest control, safer to humans and less harmful to the environment (Korrat et al, 2012). The study was undertaken with the objective to look into the various patterns of pesticide usage and farmers’ knowledge about pest management in amaranthus in different amaranthus growing blocks of Coimbatore district
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