UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

This study evaluated habitat manipulation-based integrated pest management (IPM) modules for encouraging natural enemy populations in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) ecosystems under field conditions at the College of Horticulture, Bagalkot, Karnataka, India. The experiment was laid out in a randomised complete block design with four treatments and five replications. The treatments comprised a habitat manipulation-based bio-intensive module (M1), a habitat manipulation-based adoptable module (M2), recommended plant protection (M3) and an untreated check (M4). The bio-intensive module included okra with border crops comprising two rows of 25-day-old maize, one row of 25-day-old marigold and two rows of cowpea, along with okra intercropped with coriander at a 5:1 ratio. It also included seed treatment with imidacloprid 600 FS at 10 ml/kg, application of neem powder at 2.5 q/ha, release of Trichogramma chilonis at one lakh/ha, installation of five pheromone traps/ha and 15 yellow sticky traps/ha, and sequential application of azadirachtin 10,000 ppm, Lecanicillium lecanii, Bacillus thuringiensis, chilli garlic extract and bio-digester. Natural enemies, namely coccinellids, chrysopids, syrphids and spiders, were recorded at 10-day intervals from 20 days after sowing until the final harvest. Among the evaluated modules, M1 recorded the highest mean abundance of coccinellids (0.37/plant), chrysopids (0.40/plant), syrphids (0.45/plant) and spiders (0.62/plant). These values were higher than those observed under the adoptable module, recommended plant protection and untreated check. The findings indicate that habitat manipulation integrated with bio-intensive IPM components can support natural enemy populations in okra and may offer an economically feasible and practically adoptable approach for pest management.