Pheromone‐based integrated pest management to control the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella in cabbage fields

Biorational and regular insecticide applications were evaluated for management of the diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella in cabbage (Brassica oleracea var capitata) in Karnataka State, India, in 1996 and 1997. The IPM programme, based on the pheromone trap catch threshold of eight moths per trap per night, included utilization of the parasitoid Cotesia plutellae. (250 000 adults ha⁻¹), the predator Chrysoperla carnea (2500 eggs ha⁻¹), the neem‐based chemical nimbecidine (625 ml ha⁻¹), the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (500 ml ha⁻¹), and the synthetic insecticide phosalone (2.8 litre ha⁻¹). The IPM programme induced a reduction of trap catches, egg and larval populations and, therefore, a low level of damage to the crop. The economic analysis showed that the cost of the IPM treatments was also considerably lower than that of ordinary insecticide practice (average of $62 relative to $123 ha⁻¹, respectively). Gross profit was also clearly higher in IPM plots than in farmer's fields, ranging from $777 to $810 ha⁻¹ in the IPM plots compared with $456 to $462 ha⁻¹ in the insecticide‐treated fields. As a consequence of lower input costs and higher gross profit, net profit in IPM treatments was even more favourable, and the economic savings associated with the utilization of the IPM programme amounted to $380 ha⁻¹ in 1996 and $410 ha⁻¹ in 1997. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry