Abstract
Pesticides differ in their toxicity and potential to cause detrimental environmental impacts. Pest control materials that are comparatively non-toxic with few ecological side-effects are called “bio-rational” pesticides. The major categories of bio-rational pesticides include botanicals, microbials, minerals, and synthetic materials. Azadirachtin based insecticides are eco-friendly and are well known for their varied pest control properties in contrast to synthetic insecticides. They work by inhibiting development of immature stages of many insects and by deterring feeding by adults. But their use is limited due to the instability of azadirachtin. Whereas, spinosad derived from a soil born bacterium- Saccharopolyspora spinosa, is also being used as an environmentally safe product. Nicotine based imidacloprid, highly systemic and translaminar and the most widely used insecticide in the world has been used for many years to control pests of agricultural crops, turf grass, and landscape plants; because of its low toxicity to mammals, it is also used to control fleas and ticks on pets. Present study was carried out to find out the effectiveness of bio-rational insecticides (biosal, spinosad and imidacloprid) in comparison with organochlorine (OC) and organophosphate (OP) insecticides (endosulfan and profenofos) against jassid on brinjal crop. All the tested insecticides were effective against jassid except spinosad. The effectiveness of both the imidacloprid and biosal proved to be a good alternative to endosulfan and profenofos.
