Impact of various insecticides on natural enemies in cowpea ecosystem

Abstract

Studies on the impact of various insecticides on natural enemies in cowpea crop revealed that all the insecticides caused harmful effect on the population of coccinellid beetles and spiders. Bio-rationals, Bacillus thuringiensis var. Kurstaki and azadirachtin were found comparatively safe. The population of coccinellid beetles gradually decreased in all treatments whereas untreated check recorded significantly more number of beetles/plant/plot while the population of spiders gradually increased in all treatments.