Evaluation of the acaropathogen, Acremonium zeylanicum (Petch) Gams and Evans against Tetranychus truncatus Ehara (Prostigata:Tetranychidae) on cucumber under protected cultivation

Abstract

The efficacy of two concentrations of Acremonium zeylanicum (Petch), two acaricide  molecules viz., spiromesifen and diafenthiuron and two botanicals viz., neem oil and azadirachtin against Tetranychus truncatus (Ehara) on cucumber in polyhouse was evaluated. The results revealed that fourteen days after treatment, A. zeylanicum significantly reduced mite population to the tune of 55.03 to 58.98 per cent at 1×108 spores ml-1 and 72.71 to 74.51 per cent at 1×109 spores ml-1. However its efficacy was not comparable with that of the acaricides and botanicals which recorded significantly higher percent reduction in mite population.