Effectiveness Of Cultural Practices In Managing Helicoverpa Armigera Infestation In Tomato Varieties Of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) is a highly destructive polyphagous pest of the tomato crop in the world, which is responsible for significant economic losses and augmenting dependence on chemical pesticides. The management of this pest is thus of great relevance in integrated pest management (IPM) systems with the view of mitigating the environmental risks and production costs. The current experiment was aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the target cultural practices in combination with the varietal susceptibility in the field conditions in Peshawar, Pakistan, between March and May 2021. The experiment was designed with the help of a randomized complete block design (RCBD) to compare the effect of early sowing, deep ploughing, weeding, hand picking of larvae, removal of infested fruits, and pupal bursting on two tomato varieties, Rio Grande (preferred) and Sahel (less preferred). Early sowing (T2) was the most effective treatment, which suppressed the population of eggs by 26.0 and 17.7 in Rio Grande and Sahel, respectively, when compared to the control. In the same way, the population of the larvae dropped by 24.6 percent and 9.2 percent in Rio Grande and Sahel, respectively. Yield parameters were much better with T2, and the number of fruits rose by 13.1 and 10.8 percent under T2 compared to control plots (Rio Grande and Sahel, respectively). Mean plant yield rose to 1.27 kg (Rio Grande) and 1.42 kg (Sahel), which is an 8.5 percent and 11.8 percent increase in yield, respectively. On the whole, Sahel responded less to infestation and was more responsive to treatments. These results reveal that an ecologically friendly and sustainable approach to the management of H. armigera involves early sowing, as well as low-preference or resistant varieties. The incorporation of these cultural practices in the IPM programs will assist in minimizing the reliance on pesticides, as well as improve the yield of tomatoes and the sustainability of production.