The use of insect growth regulators for the control of insect pests of cotton

Abstract

Studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of insect growth regulators for the control of cotton insect pests. Three field trials were carried out and the insect growth regulators including lufenuron (A 7814) and lufenuron plus profenofos (A 9441) were compared with lambda-cyhalothrin. The lufenuron plus profenofos (275 g.a.i./ha) provided yields similar to lambda-cyhalothrin (19.5 g.a.i./ha) in all trials. In one trial the yield was also similar to polytrin-C (660 g.a.i./ha). However, lufenuron alone at 300 g.a.i./ha gave a lower yield than lambda-cyhalothrin in the first two trials. A higher dosage level of400 g.a.i./ha, yielded similar to lambda-cyhalothrin in the third trial. The lufenuron treatment was generally more effective against outbreaks of Spodoptera littoralis than the commonly used pyrethroid (lambda-cyhalothrin) and was also comparatively less harmful to predators. Insect growth regulators could be included in the spray programmes for the management of cotton pests rather than continuous use of pyrethroids on a routine basis and their use integrated with other pest management practices might play an important role in the management of insect pests of cotton on small-scale farms in Africa and other cotton-growing countries.