ECO-FRIENDLY AND COST-EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF TOMATO FRUIT BORER (HELICOVERPA ARMIGERA) IN LAMJUNG DISTRICT OF NEPAL

A field experiment was conducted in Besishahar Municipality, Lamjung to identify eco-friendly and effective pesticides against tomato fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera). The experiment setup was designed in Randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 7 treatments viz. are T1(Neem extract), T2(Bacillus thuringiensis), T3(Spinosad), T4(HNPv), T5( Tobacco extract), T6(Metarhizium anisopliae) and T7(control) and each treatment was replicated four times Spinosad gave highest percentage reduction of pest over control (PROC) 66.52% and 68.85% after the 1st and 2nd spray respectively. Bacillus thuringiensis was found to be another promising insecticide reducing the larval population with PROC (49.55%) after 2nd spray. The highest marketable fruit yield (48.50 ton/ha) and lowest fruit damage (8.53 ton/ha) were obtained from Spinosad treated plots followed by Bacillus thuringiensis with a marketable yield of 46 ton/ha and fruit damage of 11.47ton/ha. The highest benefit-cost ratio was obtained from spinosad (2.05) followed by Bacillus thuringiensis (1.94). Thus, spinosad and Bacillus thuringiensis could be the potential option for the management of tomato fruit borer and increasing the return.