Abstract

Insecticides are unavoidable in pest management programs especially when the pest crosses Economic Threshold Level (ETL). Nevertheless, often the plant protection products kill the natural enemy population making the pest to resurge and thus demanding more sprays. Therefore, insecticides used in integrated pest management (IPM) programs should be selective enough to spare the beneficial. Laboratory experiments were conducted with spinetoram 12 SC at 36, 45, 54 and 108 g a.i./ha; and various standard chemicals were used to assess the toxicity of spinetoram 12 SC to the egg parasitoid, Trichogramma chilonis and predatory green lacewing, Chrysoperla zastrowi sillemi during January 2013. In the present study, spinetoram 12 SC did not show harmful effects on T. chilonis. The results of the safety test experiment for T. chilonis on adult emergence and percent parasitization revealed that spinetoram 12 SC at 36, 45, 54 and 108 g a.i./ha had little adverse effect when treated at egg, larval and pupal stages. Treatment of parasitized eggs with spinetoram did not cause any ill effects to the developing parasitoids, adult emergence and emerged adults. The lowest egg mortality and highest egg hatchability of C. zastrowi sillemi was recorded by spinetoram at 36 g a.i./ha which was on par with spinetoram at 45 g a.i/ha. Effect of spinetoram on adult longevity and fecundity of C. zastrowi sillemi revealed that the adult longevity was the longest and number of eggs laid per five female was also more in untreated check (14.70 days 366.40 eggs), while it was 11.37, 9.40, 8.27 and 7.67 days and 145.97, 133.40, 105.67 and 93.70 eggs in spinetoram at 36, 45, 54 and 108 g a.i./ha, respectively.

Key words: Spinetoram 12 SC, Trichogramma chilonis, Chrysoperla zastrowi sillemi, safety.