Comparative efficacy of certain chemical and natural protectants against polyphagous heliothis armigera in tomato

Heliothis armigera is a cosmopolitan and major pest, which attacks a wide range of cultivated plants including wheat, pulses, oilseeds, fiber crops, vegetables and ornamental plants. This generalist can grow and survive on many different plant species, belonging to more than 37 families in India. It is a severe pest and it feeds on at least 157 plants species. At certain occasions, it has been found that more than 50% crop is damaged by this pest alone. The damage is caused in the larval stage. The tomato fruit worm is active year round, but is usually more abundant in tomato and pepper during warmer months of both the spring and fall. Larvae bore deeply into fruit, usually at or near the calyx. Infested fruit are rendered unmarketable and usually rot due to invasion of secondary microorganisms. Field investigations were conducted to check the efficacy of chemical and botanical formulations against fruit borer, Heliothis armigera Hub. infesting tomato. The insecticides Steward, Profenophos and Proclaim (Sahito, 2013) were applied four times at the interval of 15 days of second, third and fourth spray, respectively. The results showed that all three insecticides performed well in reducing the infestation in fruits by the H. armigera however, Proclaim gave best results. Simultaneously three botanical extracts neem seed extract (Shah, 2013), tobacco leaf extract, mahogany oil (Rahman, 2014) also applied to check their efficacy against fruit borer. Among these botanical extracts neem seed extract perform well against H. armigera. Neem products may be a good measure to overcome the insecticide resistance problem against the H. armigera.