Managing Icerya purchasi and Planococcus citri menace in Aonla under rainfed conditions of Jammu subtropics

Aonla (Emblica officinalis Gaertn) is a nutritionally rich, minor subtropical fruit grown widely in Jammu rainfed belt. The research farm of Advanced Centre of Rainfed Agriculture (ACRA), SKUAST-J, India has approximately 50 aonla trees (8 – 10 years old). The trees got heavily infested by cottony cushion scale (Icerya purchasi Maskel) (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae) and mealy bug (Planococcus citri (Risso) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) with 10 – 15 nymphs and adults per 10 cm branch during October, 2017. Ten different treatment modules were applied to manage these pests in five replications. Head back pruning was done in all the treatments except control, to reduce the pest infestation, and the pruned branches were burned to prevent further spread of both these insect pests. Tree basins were cleared and carbofuran 3G @ 50, 75, 100 and 150 g / tree basin and neem cake @ 500 g / tree basin were applied. In addition to this, pasting of tree trunk was done with lime added with chlorpyriphos @ 2 ml/L lime water, diafenthiuron (Solo®) @ 2 g/L and 3 g/L lime water, eugenol (accon®) @ 5 ml/L and 10 ml/L, neem oil @ 10 ml/L, lime mixture made in cow urine instead of water and cow dung @ 1 kg / 2 L of lime water. All these operations were done during November end – December beginning, when the aonla fruits had been harvested and trees were in dormant phase. Observations on I. purchasi and P. citri counts were recorded every month post treatment. Till June 2018, no scale or mealy bugs was recorded in all the treatments except control. After that from July 2018, few I. purchasi nymphs started appearing in treatment T₁ (pruning + carbofuran + chlorpyriphos), T₃ (pruning + carbofuran + eugenol) and T₄ (pruning + carbofuran + imidacloprid). In treatments T₇ (pruning + neem cake @ 500 g/tree + cow urine) and T₅ (pruning + neem cake @ 500 g/tree + neem oil @ 10 ml), no I. purchasi and P. citri nymphs or adults were noticed till November, 2018, after which they started appearing, while in T₈ (pruning + neem cake @ 500 g/tree + cow dung) and T₉ (pruning + neem cake @ 500 g/tree + diafenthiuron 50 WP), their populations were nil till October, 2018. So, the treatmentsT₅, T₇, T₈ and T₉ offered complete management of both I. purchasi and P. citri on aonla under rainfed conditions of Jammu region. Routine pruning of aonla tree, as recommended during the dormant phase, application of neem cake @ 500 g/tree basin and tree trunk pasting with lime mixed with cow urine or neem oil or cow dung or diafenthiuron, effectively manages both these insect pests menace in aonla under rainfed conditions of Jammu subtropics.