Abstract

Studies were conducted on the use of crop residues such as weeded out grasses, dried guava leaves, groundnut haulms, sesame plants with capsules, sugarcane bagasse, coconut coir pith and threshed out sorghum ear heads, light traps (40, 100, and 200 Watt incandescent light) and oils of groundnut, sesame, mustard and neem as attractants to sesame pod bug (SPB) both under field and threshing floor condition. Sesame plants with capsule, groundnut haulms, grasses, threshed sorghum ear heads and dried guava leaves were equally effective in attracting the SPB in large numbers when compared to sugarcane begasse, coconut coirpith under both condition. Higher intensities viz. 100 and 200 watt were more effective with mean bug catches 27.5 and 44.8 bugs per week respectively and can be utilized for monitoring and management of SPB. Among the vegetable oils tested for attraction of bugs, groundnut and sesame oils were effective than mustard oil. The groundnut and sesame oil traps attracted 9.12 and 9.05 insects per trap respectively while mustard oil attracted only 1.05 insects. Neem oil had no effect.

Keywords: Sesame, Elasmolomus sordidus, Crop residues, Light traps, Oil traps.