Crop Diversification For Sustainable Insect Pest Management in Eggplant (Solanales: Solanaceae)
Crop Diversification For Sustainable Insect Pest Management in Eggplant (Solanales: Solanaceae)
Crop Diversification For Sustainable Insect Pest Management in Eggplant (Solanales: Solanaceae)
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles
in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations,
museums, institutions, and presses.
Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Complete website, and all posted and associated content indicates your
acceptance of BioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/terms-of-use.
Usage of BioOne Complete content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non - commercial use.
Commercial inquiries or rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as
copyright holder.
BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit
publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to
critical research.
Abstract
An experiment was conducted to manage the eggplant (brinjal) shoot and fruit borer Leucinodes orbonalis Guenée (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), the
leafhopper Amrasca biguttula biguttula (Ishida) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), and the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)
during kharif, the southwest monsoon season (Jul-Oct), in 2010 and 2011 at an experimental farm at the Division of Entomology, Indian Agricultural
Research Institute, New Delhi. The experiment consisted of 7 different treatments with brinjal or eggplant ‘Pusa Kranti’, Solanum melongena L. (So-
lanales: Solanaceae), as the main crop and coriander, marigold or mint as intercrops, along with a border crop (maize or cowpea) acting as refuge
crops. Treatment T1 (maize as border crop and coriander as intercrop) harbored the smallest cumulative mean leafhopper population (6.90 insects
per 3 leaves per plant) and the next to smallest mean whitefly population (9.64 insects per 3 leaves per plant) during monsoon season of 2010 and
2011. Treatment T3 (maize as border crop and marigold as intercrop) was second best in reducing the leafhopper population (7.27 insects per 3 leaves
per plant), while it was the best treatment in reducing the whitefly population (8.36 insects per 3 leaves per plant). The sole crop (T7) harbored the
largest whitefly (20.17 insects per 3 leaves per plant) and leafhopper (12.61 insects per 3 leaves per plant) populations among the 7 treatments. The
lowest mean percentage fruit infestation was recorded from treatment T1 (by number: 27.72; by weight: 27.81). All the treatments involving inter-
crops showed significantly lower percentage fruit infestation by L. orbonalis than eggplant alone (T7, control), which showed 37.73% infestation by
number of fruits and 38.13% by weight of the fruits. The greatest mean number of coccinellids (1.25 per plant) and largest Shannon-Wiener indices
were recorded from treatment T1 (maize and coriander). The smallest mean number of coccinellids (0.37 per plant) and smallest Shannon-Wiener
indices were recorded from the sole crop control, T7. Various plant volatiles present in the intercrop were identified by the thermal desorption tech-
nique. Twenty one volatile compounds were present in coriander, 7 in marigold, and 18 in mint. The current state of knowledge of the behavioral
effects (repellency, attractancy, no effect) of each chemical with respect the various herbivorous insects and natural enemies is summarized and this
information will facilitate quantitative studies on how different pest and beneficial insects respond to plant volatiles in polycultures.
Key Words: eggplant shoot and fruit borer; intercrop; border crop; Coccinellidae; pest suppression
Resumen
Se realizó un experimento para controlar al barrenador de brote y fruta de la berenjena [Leucinodes orbonalis (Guenne) (Lepidoptera
Crambidae)], el saltahoja [Amrasca biguttula biguttula (Ishida) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)] y la mosca blanca [Bemisia tabaci (Gen-
nadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)] durante el kharif, que es la temporada de monzón del suroeste (de julio a octubre), en el 2010 y
2011 en la Granja Experimental de la División de Entomología, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, de Nueva Delhi. El experimento
consistió en 7 tratamientos diferentes utilizando el cultivar de berenjena ‘Pusa kranti’ como el cultivo principal y cilantro, caléndula
y menta como cultivos intercalados junto con 2 cultivos de borde (maíz y caupí) que actúan como refugios. El tratamiento T1 (maíz
como cultivo de borde y cilantro como cultivo intercalado) registró la población de saltahojas más baja (6.90 insectos por 3 hojas
por planta) y fue el segundo mejor en el promedio de la población de mosca blanca (9.64 insectos por 3 hojas por planta) durante
la epoca de monzón del 2010 y 2011. El tratamiento T3 (maíz como cultivo de borde y caléndula como cultivo intercalado) fue el
segundo mejor en la reducción de saltahojas (7.27 insectos por tres hojas por planta), y a su vez fue el mejor tratamiento en la
reducción de la población de mosca blanca (8.36 insectos por 3 hojas por planta). El cultivo único (T7) registró la poblacion más alta
de mosca blanca (20.17 insectos por 3 hojas por planta) y de saltahojas (12.61 insectos 3 hojas por planta) entre los 7 tratamientos.
Se registró el menor porcentaje de frutas infestadas en el Tratamiento T1 (27.72: basado en el número; y 27.81 basado en el peso).
Todos los tratamientos con cultivos intercalados tenian el porcentaje de las frutas infestadas por Leucinodes orbonalis (Guenne)
significativamente menor basado en el número y el peso que sola la berenjena, (T7, control) lo cual fue una infestación del 37.73%
del numero de frutas y 38.13% por el peso de las frutas. El promedio mayor de número de cocinélidos (1.25 por planta) y mayor
índice de Shannon-Wiener se registraron en el tratamiento T1 (maíz y cilantro). El menor número de cocinélidos (0.37 por planta) y
menor índice de Shannon-Wiener se registraron de las plantas del tratamiento del cultivo solo, T7. Varios compuestos volátiles de
plantas presentes en el cultivo intercalado se identificaron mediante la técnica de desorción térmica. Veintiún compuestos volátiles
1
Division of Entomology, I.A.R.I., New Delhi 110 012, India
2
Division of Agricultural Chemicals, I.A.R.I., New Delhi 110 012, India
3
Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India
4
Present address: Division of Crop Protection, Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur, India
*Corresponding author; E-mail: [email protected]
Palabras Clave: barrenador de los brotes y frutas de berenjena; cultivos intercalados, cultivos del borde; Coccinellidae, supressión
de plagas
Eggplant, Solanum melongena L. (Solanales: Solanaceae), is an in the field was deficient, it was restored by flood irrigation. Five hand
important vegetable crop in Southeast Asia. It was cultivated on hoeings were done for managing the weeds.
18.53 lakh ha (1,853,000 ha) with a production of 48,424,295 tonnes
worldwide during 2012 (FAO 2014). Numerous insect pests infest TREATMENTS
eggplant, among them the fruit borer Leucinodes orbonalis Guenée The experiment had 7 treatments in a randomized block design,
(Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and sucking pests like the leafhopper and each treatment was replicated thrice with a plot size of 5 m × 5
Amrasca biguttula biguttula (Ishida) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) and m per replicate. A buffer zone of 1 m was maintained between the
the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), plots. In each plot spacing (row to row × plant to plant) of 60 cm ×
cause major damage in the Indo-Gangetic Plain region of India (Bha- 45 cm was maintained. The intercrops, coriander (‘Pusa Harit’) and
dauria et al. 1999). Synthetic broad-spectrum insecticides have been mint (land race), were sown and raised in the main field, while the
used by farmers to manage the insect menace in India (Alam et al. intercrop, marigold (‘AF/SR/12-1’), was sown in a raised-bed nursery
2006) and Bangladesh (Rashid et al. 2003). Repeated insecticidal and 1-month-old healthy seedlings were transplanted to the main
sprays resulted in the development of resistance in L. orbonalis to or- field. A ratio of 6:1 was maintained for the main crop to intercrop.
ganophosphate and synthetic pyrethroids (Ali 1994; Alam et al. 2003; The border crops, maize (‘PEMH-2’) and cowpea (‘Pusa Komal’) were
Botre et al. 2014), besides also resulting in residue on the produce, sown on the same day of eggplant transplantation to the main field.
and in resurgence of non-target insect pests. To manage insect pests The treatments with intercrop and border crop, respectively, were
in an eco-friendly manner, a pest-suppressive agro-ecosystem has to as follows: T1, coriander and maize; T2, coriander and cowpea; T3,
be considered. A pest-suppressive agro-ecosystem can be designed marigold and maize; T4, marigold and cowpea; T5, mint and maize;
by identifying a suitable intercrop having insect pest deterrence, and T6, mint and cowpea; and T7 (sole crop: control), without any inter-
a border crop enhancing natural enemy activity by acting as a re- crop or border crop.
fugium (Landis et al. 2000). Since 300 B.C., intercropping has been
practiced in Greece, which indicates that polyculture or intercropping OBSERVATIONS ON INSECT POPULATIONS AND YIELDS
is a traditional farming practice (Papanastasis et al. 2004). In India, In each treatment, 5 plants were selected randomly and tagged for
the impact of intercropping on major insect pests and beneficial in- weekly monitoring and recording of the insect pest and natural enemy
sects was studied in a wide range of crops including pulses (Prasad et populations. Weekly observations on the numbers of leafhoppers (A.
al. 1987; Prasad et al. 1988; Mehto et al. 1988; Sekhar et al. 1997), biguttulla bigutulla) (32nd Standard Meteorological Week [SMW] to
cereals and oil seeds (Singh et al. 1991a,b) from the mid 1970s to 41st SMW; i.e., 06-12-Aug to 08-14 Oct) were recorded from a leaf
early 1990s. Practicing multi cropping on a farm increases the vegeta- from the top, middle and bottom of each plant. Similar sampling
tion and insect diversity compared with practicing monoculture. The methodology was followed for recording the white fly (Bemisia tabaci)
continuous supply of floral rewards and alternate food sources for population from 32nd SMW to 41st SMW (06-12-Aug to 08-14 Oct).
the natural enemies helps to increase their abundance, diversity and The numbers of coccinellid beetles present on those 5 tagged plants in
conservation. Herbivorous insect pests of eggplant may be less able each plot were recorded from the 32nd SMW to 41st SMW. Egg plant
to discern and respond to the odors of their host when additional fruits were harvested regularly every 8–9th day commencing from the
non-host plants in the form of intercrop or border crop are present first harvest i.e., 75 days after transplanting. The healthy and damaged
(Andow 1991). Chemicals from the intercrop exert an odor-masking fruits were sorted out by visual examination, and percentage fruit in-
effect on the insect seeking its host (Bernays & Chapman 1994), ulti- festation both by number and weight of fruits were calculated for each
mately resulting in lower incidence of insect pests in the main crop. treatment.
Thus, habitat management can be effectively integrated with bio- After 55–60 days of transplanting, the numbers of natural enemies
intensive integrated pest management (IPM) packages. Hence, in the present in eggplant in each treatment were recorded visually and the
present study, the suitability of 3 intercrops and 2 border crops was insects were collected for identification. The numbers of individuals
evaluated for the management of 3 major insect pests on eggplant per species and numbers of individuals of all species in different treat-
in India. ments were used for diversity analysis through the Shannon-Wiener
index. This index combines species richness and evenness in a habi-
Materials and Methods tat and was described by Shannon (1948). It is calculated by using the
equation
Seeds of the eggplant cultivar ‘Pusa Kranti’ were sown in a raised- H’ = -Σ Pi (ln Pi)
bed nursery during Jun 2010 and Jun 2011 with the onset on the mon-
soon season in India. Thirty day old healthy seedlings free from me- where Pi = n/N (n = number of individuals of a species; N = number of
chanical damage were chosen for planting on the experimental farm individuals in each treatment) and ln = the natural logarithm.
at the Division of Entomology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Generally, for a sample size with more than 5 species, the index will
New Delhi 28.08 °N and 77.12 °E. The ratio of fertilizer (N:P:K) applied range from 0 to 4.5 (Shannon 1948). A value near zero indicates that
to the experimental field was 100:80:60/ha. Nitrogen was applied in 2 the treatment was dominated by a single species, and a value near 4.5
split doses, 50 per cent at field preparation before transplanting and 50 indicates that the number of individuals was distributed evenly overall
per cent at flowering to raise a healthy crop. Whenever soil moisture the species.
Mean insect population per 3 leaves per plant for 10 weeksa Mean insect population per plant for 10 weeksa
PLANT VOLATILES PRESENT IN THE INTERCROPS During the present investigation it was noticed that maize harbored
large numbers of coccinellids and syrphids, which might have helped
The presence of different hydrocarbons at varying levels was ob-
to reduce the leafhopper nymphs on eggplant in those treatments. The
served in intercrops. About 21 volatile compounds were present in
border crop and intercrop change the microclimate of the main crop,
coriander, 7 in marigold, and 18 in mint (Table 5 and Fig. 1, 2 and 3).
which in turn hinders insect pest development and favors natural en-
The current state of knowledge of the behavioral effects (repellency,
emy proliferation by providing supplementary food and refugia (Staver
attractancy, no effect) of each chemical with respect the various her-
et al. 2001). Moreover, the volatiles from coriander and marigold likely
bivorous insects and natural enemies is summarized in Table 5. Some
acted to repel leafhoppers, resulting in smaller populations in T1 and
the volatiles emitted by coriander and mint are known to be repellent
T3 compared with the sole crop control, T7. Insect pests have difficulty
to certain herbivorous insects and others are known to be attractive
in locating their host plants due to presence of intercrops and border
to certain natural enemies. Very little is known about the behavioral
crops that emit volatiles that have either masking effects or repellency
effect of individual chemical constituents of the volatiles emitted by
(Goel & Tiwari 2004; Gupta & Chourasia 2004). The 3 intercrops (cori-
marigold. These data provide specific information that must be taken
ander, marigold and mint) are odoriferous in nature. The odoriferous
into account when conducting quantitative studies on how different
plants, when raised with host plants of insect pests, can deter recogni-
pest and beneficial insects respond to plant volatiles in polycultures.
tion, feeding and reproduction of the pests on their host plants (De-
thier et al. 1960; Schoonhoven 1968).
Discussion The whitefly population was smallest in treatment T3 followed
byT1, T4, T2, T5, T6, and T7. The results indicated that maize as bor-
Pest outbreaks are rare in polycultures due to the ability of the der crop and marigold as an intercrop effectively reduced the whitefly
diverse plant culture to self-sustain through natural pest control by population in eggplant. The volatiles from marigold have repellent ac-
increasing the occurrence of natural enemies (Altieri 1994; Scherr & tion against whiteflies (Zavaleta-Mejía & Gomes 1995), explaining why
McNeely 2008). The cumulative mean leafhopper population of 2010 treatments T3 and T4 had small whitefly populations. Coriander was
and 2011 was smallest in treatments T1 and T3, followed by T2, T5, T4, the second best intercrop in reducing whitefly populations. Maize was
T6, and T7. In other words, eggplant with maize as border crop (T1 & a very good barrier crop against whitefly colonization and migration.
T3) and coriander as intercrop (T1) or marigold as intercrop (T3) had Hence, the treatments having maize as border crop (T3, T1, and T5)
the lowest leafhopper incidence. All those treatments having maize had smaller whitefly populations than the other treatments and sole
as border crop (T1, T3 & T5) recorded lesser leafhopper population crop control, T7. Marigold intercropping in tomato reduced whitefly
than cowpea as border crop (T2, T4 & T6). Maize likely acted as a bar- and nematode populations (Abid & Magbool 1990; Zavaleta-Mejía &
rier crop for the movement of leafhoppers, as maize plants were much Gomes 1995). Similarly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (He-
taller than the main crop and when planted in the border, maize is miptera: Aleyrodidae) was repelled by Tagetes spp. (Asterales: Astera-
known to act as barrier crop (Root 1973; Fereres 2000; Elanchezhyan ceae) (Endersby & Morgan 1991). This bottom-up effect of marigold
et al. 2008). Insect movements in and out of the system are affected intercropping was accompanied by a top-down effect, as the marigold
by the permeability of the vegetation. In and out migration patterns of increased longevity and fecundity of natural enemies by providing nec-
insects in polycultures have been studied by Bach (1984), Risch (1981) tar and pollen (Baggen 1999). Next to marigold, coriander supported
and Wetzler & Risch (1984). Similarly leafhopper populations in pi- the smallest whitefly populations in our study. Under greenhouse con-
geonpea were reduced by sorghum intercropping (Sekhar et al. 1997). ditions, planting melon (Cucumis melo L.) or watermelon (Citrullus la-
n/a = not applicable. The treatments with intercrop and border crop, respectively, were as follows: T1, coriander and maize; T2, coriander and cowpea; T3, marigold and maize; T4, marigold and cowpea; T5, mint and maize; T6, mint and
Increase in yield over control
coriander reduced infestation by B. tabaci (Costa & Bleicher 2006).
By weight
60.59
44.99
20.35
34.74
28.18
34.94
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Similarly, Hilje & Stansly (2008) reported that B. tabaci abundance
and begomovirus incidence were low on tomato intercropped with
coriander. Our treatments using maize as border crop (T1, T3, and T5)
(%)c
By weight
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
The presence of non-host plants might have repelled the adult
control (%)c
9.49
26.25
20.24
22.37
17.53
13.32
al. (2000), McNair et al. (2000) and Liu et al. (2005). The results clearly
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Table 2. Effect of intercrops and border crops on infestation of eggplant by the fruit and shoot borer L. orbonalis during the 2010 and 2011 monsoon season.
29.12b
31.05d
32.54e
a
38.13g
29.89c
34.41f
0.52
1.93
0.73
27.81
cassava with NERICA rice varieties had reduced stem borer attack on
By number
30.01b,c
rice. They also concluded that cassava acted as refugia for generalist
29.20b
32.65d
34.11e
a
31.05c
37.73f
0.52
3.13
1.17
27.72
a,b
3.514a,b
3.588a,b
3.834b,c
4.512c,d
4.650d
2.756a
3.286
0.77
17.48
45.40a,b
coriander or fennel (Satpathy & Misra 2011). In the present study, the
48.80b
53.00b
52.20b
37.40a
63.20c
1.49
7.66
44.53
13.20
9.909a,b
9.923a,b
8.850b,c
10.663a,b
9.426b
7.354c
a
0.38
1.76
15.36
corded from treatments T1, T3, and T5 wherein maize supplied pollen
and nectar as supplementary feed to the natural enemies (Bianchi et
hectare
al. 2006). The ample availability of pollen and nectar from the tassel
cowpea; and T7 (sole crop: control), without any intercrop or border crop.
Number (´ 103)
and silk of maize crop attracted many natural enemies. Apart from this,
87.53c
136.93b
119.27b
135.00b
129.13b
139.00b
a
4.43
13.08
20.04
162.13
13.497a,b,c
13.261a,b,c
14.573a,b
11.865b,c
a
11.606c
0.48
2.49
15.72
15.095
182.33a,b
183.80a,b
182.13a,b
156.67b,c
202.20a
139.73c
5.09
12.64
26.69
206.67
b
a
c
CV
T1
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
Present in treatmentsa
The treatments with intercrop and border crop, respectively, were as follows: T1, coriander and maize; T2, coriander and cowpea; T3, marigold and maize; T4, marigold and cowpea;
a
T5, mint and maize; T6, mint and cowpea; and T7 (sole crop: control), without any intercrop or border crop.
thrips infesting groundnut. Treatment T1 yielded the highest numbers adult moths were pushed from maize by the molasses grass or by Des-
of natural enemy individuals and species and the highest Shannon- modium sp. simultaneously they were pulled by napier grass or sudan
Wiener index in 2010 and 2011. The present finding is in agreement grass, as these 2 are preferred for oviposition by the adults (Khan et al.
with that of Amin et al. (2005), who reported that eggplant with co- 2000, 2006). The pull components used here were putative trap crops
riander as intercrop had the highest diversity index during the early (i.e., they would not support larval feeding) the stem borer population
growth phase of eggplant. The present result is also in concurrence starts reducing by the use of this push–pull strategy. This strategy not
with the reports of Midega & Khan (2003). They concluded that habi- only reduced cereal stem borers but also reduced the parasitic weed,
tat management for maize stem borers by using “push pull system” Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. and thereby sustained the cereal pro-
had increased the abundance of natural enemies like Cheilomenes sp, duction in sub Saharan Africa (Khan et al. 2010).
Chrysopa sp., ants earwigs and spiders concurrently with reducing tar- Coriander leaf volatile consists of carvyl acetate and carvone in the
get pest i.e. stem borers. present investigation. Carvacrol from coriander leaf volatiles was re-
Push – pull strategy involves manipulation of insect and natural ported to strongly deter oviposition by the cotton leafhopper, Amras-
enemy behavior through the integration of stimuli that act to make ca devastans (Hemiptera: Cicaidae), and the volatiles suppressed the
the protected resource unattractive or unsuitable to the pests (push) nymph arrival (Saxena & Basit 1982). The colonization and residence
while luring them toward an attractive source (pull) from where the time of the leafhopper on a host plant were influenced by the presence
pests are subsequently removed (Cook et al. 2007). The push-pull strat- of the nonhost plants. The airborne volatiles of Melinis minutiflora P.
egy was well established for cereal stem borer management in Africa, Beauv. (Poales: Poaceae) a non host plant of spotted maize stem bor-
wherein the molasses grass, Melinis minutiflora P. Beauv. or silver leaf er had repelled it from ovipositing on maize. This is due to the pres-
desmodium, Desmodium uncinatum (Jacq.) DC. or D. intortum is used ence of the plant volatiles ocimene and nonatriene from the intercrop
as push component and napier (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) or (Kimani et al. 2000). Farnesene present in the coriander leaves is an
sudan grass (Sorghum sudanense Stapf) is used as pull component. The aphid alarm pheromone and thus helps in repelling aphids and acts as
Table 4. Predatory insect diversity in various treatments with intercrops and border crops to determine infestation levels of eggplant pests.
The treatments with intercrop and border crop, respectively, were as follows: T1, coriander and maize; T2, coriander and cowpea; T3, marigold and maize; T4, marigold and cowpea;
T5, mint and maize; T6, mint and cowpea; and T7 (sole crop: control), without any intercrop or border crop.
a
Note: A value near zero indicates that the treatment was dominated by a single species, and a value near 4.5 indicates that the number of individuals was distributed evenly overall
the species.
Crop Retention time Compound Insect name: Repellent (R) /Attractant (A)/Neither (N) Reference
Coriander 6.834 α-Pinene Rhynchophorus ferrugineus: (R) Guarino et al. 2013
Phthorimaea operculella: (R) Sharaby et al. 2009
7.200 Camphene Phthorimaea operculella: (R) Sharaby et al. 2009
7.452 β-Phellandrene Phthorimaea operculella: (R) Sharaby et al. 2009
7.721 β-Pinene Aphid (R) alarm pheromone Pickett & Griffiths 1980
7.990 Carvyl acetate Lice (R) Eini & Tamarkin 1993
8.344 Thymene N
8.430 Limonene Empoasca vitis: (R) Zhang et al. 2014
Harmonia axyridis: (A) Alhmedi et al. 2010
8.545 p-Cymene Empoasca vitis: (R) Zhang et al. 2014
8.739 Ocimene Helicoverpa armigera: (A) Bruce & Cork 2001
8.957 Terpinene N
9.786 Nonanal Paragus quadrifasciatus and Orius similis: (A) Yu et al. 2008
11.572 Dihydrocarvone Sitophilus oryzae contact toxicity Tripathi et al. 2003
11.692 Decanal N
12.493 Carvone Sitophilus oryzae contact toxicity Tripathi et al. 2003
12.796 Decenal N
14.524 Undecenal N
15.594 β-Caryophyllene Harmonia axyridis: (A) Alhmedi et al. 2010
15.989 Cadinene N
16.069 Farnesene Whiteflies toxic Klinjstra et al. 1992
16.161 α-Caryophyllene Chrysopa carnea (A) Flint et al. 1979
16.246 3-Dodecenal N
Marigold 5.508 Allylisothiocyanate N
6.126 Butane-4-isothiocyanate N
8.380 Cinamaldehyde N
8.529 Phenol, m-tert-butyl- N
8.735 Chrysanthenone N
8.947 Piperitenone Helicoverpa armigera: (A) Bruce & Cork 2001
9.113 Piperitenone oxide N
Mint 7.700 β-Pinene Aphid (R) alarm pheromone Pickett & Griffiths 1980
7.974 Carvyl acetate Lice (R) Eini & Tamarkin 1993
8.180 α-Terpinene Manduca sexta: (A) Fraser et al. 2003
8.335 p-Cymene N
8.426 Limonene Empoasca vitis: (R) Zhang et al. 2014
Harmonia axyridis: (A) Alhmedi et al. 2010
8.730 β-Ocimene Helicoverpa armigera: (A) Bruce & Cork 2001
9.107 g-Terpinene N
9.531 Dimethylstyrene N
9.788 Nonanal Paragus quadrifasciatus and Orius similis: (A) Yu et al. 2008
10.143 2-Octene N
11.619 Dihydrocarvone Sitophilus oryzae contact toxicity Tripathi et al. 2003
12.552 Carvol N
12.712 Piperitone Stomoxys calcitrans (R) Hieu et al. 2014
13.359 Carvacrol Phthorimaea operculella: (R) Sharaby et al. 2009
13.902 Dihydrocarvyl acetate N
15.590 β-Caryophyllene Harmonia axyridis: (A) Alhmedi et al. 2010
Phthorimaea operculella: (A) Sharaby et al. 2009
16.065 β-Farnesene Episyrphus balteatus: (A) Alhmedi et al. 2010
16.157 α-Caryophyllene Chrysopa carnea: (A) Flint et al. 1979
a kairomone for carabid beetles (Keilty et al. 1996). Similarly, whiteflies the leafhoppers, whitefly and eggplant fruit borers significantly. This is
are known to avoid plant species that contain aromatic oils such as evident from the sucking pest population and fruit damage in control
ginger oil. Hence, aromatic plants like coriander and marigold might (T7).
have repelled the whitefly from the eggplant (Zhang et al. 2004). Repel- These inter crops can be employed as a “push factor” in line with
lent and antifeedant properties of mint against agricultural pests were the well established push-pull management strategy employed in ce-
reported by Koschier et al. (2002), Odeyemi et al. (2008), and Kumar et real stem borers in Africa (Khan et al. 2000, 2006). The border crop
al. (2009). Similarly, Rattan (2010) reported that mint volatiles blocked maize and cowpea acted as refugia for generalist natural enemies and
the chemosensory receptor cells of lepidopteran larvae. Hence in the these also helped in further reducing the pest populations in eggplant.
present study the intercrops (coriander, marigold and mint) repelled Beyond this, maize also acted as a barrier to fruit borer and sucking
Fig. 1. Total ion current (TIC) mode chromatographic plot of coriander leaf
volatiles sampled and analyzed by the thermal desorption (TD) technique.
Fig. 2. Total ion current (TIC) mode chromatographic plot of marigold leaf vola-
tiles sampled using the thermal desorption (TD) technique.
pest of eggplant, thereby preventing the pest colonization in eggplant. leaves per plant on eggplant was lowest (8.36) in treatment T3, us-
Hence this system can be called as “push & prevent” strategy for man- ing marigold as intercrop and maize as border crop, followed by T1
aging the eggplant insect pest. Cook et al. (2007) has listed various (9.64). The highest number of coccinellids per plant on eggplant was
cues that affect insects’ long range and short range stimuli during the recorded from treatment T1 (1.25), followed by T3 (1.00), T5 (0.78),
host searching process. The presence of non host volatiles and visual T2 (0.67), T4 (0.61), and T6 (0.55). Maize as a border crop attracted
cues have under long range action, while ovipositional deterrents and many unique natural enemies like Paederus sp., C. zastrowi, Eristalis
antifeedancy serve as short range cues. In the present investigation sp., and Brachymeria sp. in treatments T1, T3, and T5. In contrast,
the presence of non host volatiles from coriander, marigold and mint the sole crop control (T7) harbored only a few natural enemies. This
might have either repelled or confused the pest of eggplant, ultimately was reflected in the higher Shannon-Wiener index recorded in the
resulting in smaller pest population in the polyculture treatments. The treatments T1, T3, and T5 compared with T7. We concluded that in-
latter case of confusion is attributed to the odor masking effect of the tercropping eggplant with either marigold or coriander coupled with
volatiles produced from intercrops. Similar report of non host volatiles border cropping with maize offers great potential for suppressing
of angiosperms resulted in reduction of colonization of bark beetles in sucking pest and fruit borer pest populations besides conserving nat-
conifers (Zhang & Schlyter 2004). ural enemy populations. Thus the intercropping of coriander or mari-
In a crop diversification system like coriander or marigold or mint gold with eggplant and border cropping with maize can be used as
with eggplant will result in poor quality or dilution of eggplant vola- “push & prevent” strategy for reducing the fruit and shoot borer and
tiles. This diluted or mixed odor may signal as poor quality host to the sucking pest especially jassids and whiteflies. This “push & prevent”
insect pest leading to repellent behavior. In polyculture, the odors re- management system will help in sustaining the ecosystem as well as
leased by some plants may mask the effect of those released by other productivity and profitability of farmers. Thus crop diversification in
plants. The codling moth (Cydia pomonella) was repelled by the odors eggplant with intercrop and border crop will help in reducing the in-
of apple at inappropriate phenological stages Vallat & Dorn (2005). Un- secticidal application on fruit and thereby reducing environmental
der these circumstances, the insects find it difficult to locate the hosts pollution in one hand simultaneously helping as a good strategy in
on which to feed and reproduce (Altieri 1986). insecticide resistance management. As crop diversification manipu-
In summary, the treatments (T1 to T6) recorded significantly re- lates insect behavior, it is a sustainable solution for managing the
duced leafhopper, whitefly, and fruit borer populations compared insect herbivores of eggplant in an eco-friendly manner.
with the sole crop control (T7) in eggplant during the years 2010 and
2011. Treatment T1, using coriander as an intercrop and maize as a
border crop with eggplant, had the lowest mean number of leafhop- Acknowledgments
pers (A. biguttulla biguttulla) per 3 leaves per plant (6.90). Treatment
T1 also had the lowest percentage fruit infestation by L. orbonalis de- The authors acknowledge V.V. Ramamurthy and the staff at the Na-
termined by number and weight of infested fruit (by number: 27.72%; tional Pusa Collection for identification of predators and parasitoids.
by weight: 27.81%). The mean number of whiteflies (B. tabaci) per 3 The study was supported financially by DST, INSPIRE program of GOI.