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Entomopathogens for Cotton Defoliators Management

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Book cover Biocontrol of Lepidopteran Pests

Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 43))

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Abstract

Cotton is a major fibre crop in the world. Currently, it has been practised in more than 80 countries and provides employment for millions of people. Hargreaves has recorded more than 1,300 insect and acarid species on cotton plants. However, defoliators cause enormous loss to cotton crops; hence, they should be controlled without harming nature and other organisms. Entomopathogens are the best option for this purpose. Here we listed arthropods which cause defoliation either directly or indirectly to cotton; these include Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (foliage feeder), Spodoptera spp., Anomis flava Fab. (Semilooper or surveyor caterpillar), Alabama argillacea (Hübner) (Cotton leaf worm), Sylepta derogata Fab. (leaf roller or phyllophagous caterpillars), Acontia graellsii (Feist.), Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel) (black cutworm), Melanoplus spp., Cyrtacanthacris tatarica, Cyrtocanthacris ranacea, Euproctis fraterna, Tarache nitidula F., Tetranychus urticae, T. neocaledonicus, T. falcaratus (red spider mites), Polyphagotarsonemus latus, Myllocerus subfasciatus (grey weevil), Gonioctena olivacea (leaf beetle), Nisotra dilecta, Nisotra uniformis, Podagrica decolorata (flea beetles), Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), etc. Various entomopathogens utilised worldwide have been listed, and their bioefficacy has been discussed elaborately. Various options proposed worldwide for managing these defoliators are also discussed in detail. Finally, we suggest a few recommendations which can be considered in the near future for better management of these pests.

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Acknowledgement

The author is grateful to the management, St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai, for the laboratory support and encouragement.

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  1. Crop Protection Research Centre, St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai, 627002, India

    K. Sahayaraj

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  1. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    K. Sowjanya Sree

  2. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ajit Varma

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Sahayaraj, K. (2015). Entomopathogens for Cotton Defoliators Management. In: Sree, K., Varma, A. (eds) Biocontrol of Lepidopteran Pests. Soil Biology, vol 43. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14499-3_12

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