Background:
Pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera is an economically important insect pest of polyphagous nature infesting oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, cotton, etc. An outcome of the excessive use of insecticides for its management is the development of insecticide resistance resulting in control failures besides environmental and ecological imbalance. Biological control is, therefore, one of the most important eco-friendly alternatives for H. armigera management. The entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana is a major pathogen infecting H. armigera. B. bassiana is primarily available in the Indian market as wettable powder formulations that have short shelf-life of 6 months. The active ingredient in these formulations is only 1.15% that makes the dose requirement very high as well as increases the packaging costs due to the bulky nature of the formulation. Hence there is an industry preference for liquid formulations over wettable powders:
Technology Details:
The technology offered is the liquid formulation of the mycoinsecticide, Beauveria bassiana for the management of pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera. The formulation is a suspension concentrate based on mineral oil and containing 30% w/v of pure conidia of Beauveria bassiana isolate ITCC-4513. The pod borer, H. armigera can be effectively managed on pigeonpea with the formulation @ 0.3 ml/l. This low volume formulation is suitable for smaller packaging that can cover large areas. Convenient packaging in HDPE bottles resulting in an extended shelf-life of the formulation will provide an impetus to commercial exploitation and boost the prospects of employing B. bassiana in H. armigera management programmes especially IPM thereby contributing to eco-friendly pest management coupled with lowered environmental pollution. The technology includes B. bassiana production and formulation methodology + B. bassiana strain along with data generated for 9(3b) registration of the formulation with the Central Insecticides Board, GOI.