Biology and invitro efficacy of Lepidopteran pests of cole crops

A major constraint in the production of cole crops is insect pest complex, which damage the crops right from germination till harvesting time. Among all, lepidopteran pests are dominant and causing huge losses in cole crops. The major lepidopteran pests of cole crops are tobacco caterpillar, large cabbage white butterfly, Indian cabbage white butterfly, large cabbage heart caterpillars, and diamond back moth. An investigation was carried out to study the effects of different host plants on biological attributes of the major lepidopteran pests and also to evaluate the toxicity of different group of pesticides against two most destructive pests viz., tobacco caterpillar and large cabbage white butterfly. The study can be concluded that, cabbage is the most preferred host for oviposition for major lepidopteran pests. Spinosad 45% SC is found to be the most effective compound for the management of tobacco caterpillar and large cabbage white butterfly so it can be incorporated in IPM module after further evaluation under field conditions.