Abstract

                                Amaranthus is a protein rich grain that is commonly cultivated as a leafyvegetable. Insect pests (63.2%), marketing (22.4%) and weather parameters(14.4%) acted as the major constraints in amaranthus production. Amongthe constraints, infestation by numerous insect pests that feed on differentplant parts such as stem, leaves, flowers and seeds had greater negativeimpact on amaranthus production. A total number of 92 insect pests from11 different orders have been documented in cultivated amaranthus. Amongthem, the leaf webber, Hymenia recurvalis Fab. (Crambidae : Lepidoptera)and stem weevil, Hypolixus truncatulus (Curculionidae: Coleoptera) wereconsidered as major threat to the farmers. Leaf webber, H. recurvalis causedthe maximum damage through webbing and defoliation up to 8.8%. Stemweevil, H. truncatulus resulted in 12.6% damage, while, the damage wasup to 7.3% due to white grub, the root feeder. Almost all the amaranthusfarmers relied on chemical pesticides for the management of insect pestsof amaranthus. A field survey on pesticide usage pattern in amaranthuswas undertaken in three amaranthus growing blocks of Coimbatoredistrict viz., Sultanpet, Karamadai and Thondamuthur. Most of the farmers(73.3 %) used chlorantraniliprole for managing the insect pests infestingamaranthus. Around 66 per cent of the farmers used organic pesticide(Exodus) as an alternate next to chlorantraniliprole. Percentage of farmersusing imidacloprid, flubendiamide, panchakavya and jeevamrutham for cropprotection represent 53.3, 33.3 and 13.3 per cent, respectively.

Key words : Amaranthus; Pesticides usage pattern; Chlorantraniliprole; Organic pesticide