Among guava cultivars, Taiwan guava is the world's premier cultivar which can produce all year round. The nutritional content and yield of the guava is affected by more number of insect pests like mostly fruit fly and fruit borers. Due to the usage of vast chemicals, the insects are developing resistance against it and these chemicals sprayed are having an adverse effect on natural enemies and environment. So, here we implemented Integrated Pest Management practices which is free of toxic chemical spray against fruit fly and fruit borers and studied the impact of these practices against fruit fly and fruit borers. The experiment was conducted in established guava orchard of Dr. Y.S.R. Horticultural University, Andhra Pradesh during 2019-2020. The observations on fruit fly and fruit borers in Integrated Pest Management plot and control plot are taken on weekly intervals. The results shown the mean population of fruit fly maggots was 5.79 ± 1.17 per fruit in Integrated Pest Management plot, whereas in the control plot it was 11.31 ± 4.14 per fruit. The maximum mean fruit infestation per cent was recorded in control plot with 35.5 ± 13.95 per cent which was 42.7 per cent higher than in Integrated Pest Management plot with 14.01 ± 2.09 per cent. Lowest number larvae of Conogethes punctiferalis (1.04 ± 0.30 larvae per tree) and Deudorix isocrates (1.07 + 0.38 larvae per tree) were recorded in IPM plot with whereas, significantly high number of fruit borer larvae was recorded in control plot.

fruit fly, fruit borers, IPM Plot, Control Plot and guava cv. Taiwan white.

The studies on the influence of IPM practices on the insect pests of guava cv. Taiwan white revealed that the mean population of fruit fly (B. dorsalis) maggots was 5.79 ± 1.17 per fruit in IPM plot, whereas in the control plot it was 11.31 ± 4.14 per fruit. The maximum mean fruit infestation per cent was recorded in control plot with 35.5 + 13.95 per cent followed which was 42.70 per cent higher than in IPM plot with 14.01 ± 2.09 per cent. The lowest number of C. punctiferalis larvae were recorded in IPM plot with 1.04 ± 0.30 number whereas, more number of larvae was recorded in control plot with 3.25 ± 1.25. The fruit infestation by C. punctiferalis was highest in control plot with 23.66 ± 9.46 per cent. The number of D. isocrates larvae per tree in IPM plot was recorded lowest with 1.07 ± 0.38 while, in control plot it was 3.03 ± 1.28. The minimum per cent fruit damage by D. isocrates was recorded in fruits grown in IPM plots with 9.87 ± 2.12 per cent whereas, in control plot it was 25.52 ± 7.94 per cent. In the present investigation, the reduction in number fruit infestation by fruit fly and fruit borers in IPM plots in contrast to control plots was mainly accredited to adoption of various IPM practices viz., collection and destruction of infested fruits, raking or ploughing the soil, bagging of fruits, application of Metarrhizium anisopliae to the soil, installation of methyl eugenol traps, light trap, erection of bird perch and need based application of bio agents and insecticides viz., NSKE 5% @ 3ml/lit, Neem oil @ 3 ml/L, B. thuringiensis @ 1 g/L at SMW, Spinosad @ 0.25ml/L. To sum up, guava cv. Taiwan white cultivated in IPM plot was found with minimum pest load and crop damage with higher marketable yield and better fruit quality which are safer for consumption and maintaining ecological balance

Giddi Thirumala Devi, N. Emmanuel, V. Sekhar, Priyanka Boruah and Kanchan Kumari Gupta (2022). Impact of Integrated Pest Management Practices on Fruit fly and Fruit Borers in Guava cv. Taiwan White. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 14(2): 532-539.