Abstract
Helicoverpa armigera (Hub.) is a destructive pest of the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) crop in Pakistan. Although insecticides are the primary management strategy used to control H. armigera, most of them are not effective due to considerable toxic residual effects on the fruits. Nonetheless, H. armigera is rapidly evolving resistance against the available pesticides for its management. This situation calls upon the need of alternative management options against the pest. Different plant extracts have been suggested as a viable, environment-friendly option for plant protection with minimal side effects. Furthermore, the plant extracts could also manage the insect species evolving resistance against pesticides. This study evaluated the efficacy of different plant extracts (i.e., Neem seed, turmeric, garlic and marsh pepper) against H. armigera. Furthermore, the impact of the plant extracts on growth and yield of tomato crop was also tested under field conditions. The results revealed that all plant extracts resulted in higher mortality of H. armigera compared to control. Similarly, the highest plant height was observed for the plants treated with the plant extracts compared to untreated plants. Moreover, the highest tomato yield was observed in plants treated with plant extracts, especially with neem seed (21.013 kg/plot) followed by pepper extract (19.25 kg/plot), and garlic extract 18.4 kg/plot) compared to the untreated plants (8.9 kg/plot). It is concluded that plant extracts can be used as eco-friendly approaches for improving tomato yield and resistance management of H. armigera.
Highlights
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) is an important and the most popular vegetable crop, grown and eaten around the globe
Standard agronomic practices recommended by the Agriculture Extension Department Government of Punjab, Pakistan for tomato crop were opted during both growing seasons
The highest plant height (88.17±2.19 cm) was recorded for neem seed extract which was followed by marsh pepper extract (84.15±0.84 cm) and garlic extract (82.12±1.55 cm)
Summary
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) is an important and the most popular vegetable crop, grown and eaten around the globe. Tomato ranks second among major vegetables grown in Pakistan [1]. It has become more popular and area under tomato cultivation is increasing gradually in the country [2]. Tomato was cultivate on was 60.7 thousand hectares with 566 thousand tones production in Pakistan during 2015 [3]. Pakistan is 37th largest tomato producer in the world. Insect pests’ infestation is the major threat reducing tomato yield in Pakistan. Helicoverpa armigera (Hub.) is a destructive pest of tomato crop in Pakistan causing significant yield losses that worth 5 billion US$ annually [4]. The pest starts damaging leaves in the early growth stages and flowers are affected at later stage where the pest bores into the fruits, reducing their market value and making the fruits unfit for human consumption [5]
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