Effects of Integrating Push-Pull Technology and Maize-Potato Intercropping on the Management of Maize and Potato Insect Pests

Abstract Crop diversification through the integration of push‒pull technology (PPT) and other agronomic practices, such as intercropping, provides ecological functions, including insect pest management. This study evaluated the effects of integrating maize‒potato intercropping and PPT (an integrated approach) on the management of fall armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda ), stem borer ( Chilo partellus ) and potato tuber moth ( Phthorimaea operculella ) larvae. The study was conducted in Hatset district, Hawzien, northern Ethiopia. A significantly lower number of S. frugiperda and C. partellus larvae and a lower level of plant damage were recorded in the maize plots treated with PPT and the integrated approach than in the maize monocropped plots and the maize‒potato intercropped plots. A significantly lower number of P. operculella larvae and a lower level of plant damage were recorded in the intercropped maize‒potato plots than in the monocropped potato plots. Thus, combining maize‒potato intercropping with PPT significantly reduced S. frugiperda and C. partellus larval infestation in maize and P. operculella larval infestation in potato. This study revealed that integrating maize‒potato intercropping and PPT can be an effective management approach to control S. frugiperda , C. partellus and P. operculella larval infestations, providing a comparative advantage for controlling multiple insect pests in an ecologically diversified cropping system.