Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.27, No.3, 2011

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1 Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.27, No.3, 2011 EFFICACY OF DIFFERENT INSECTICIDES AGAINST MAIZE STEM BORER, CHILO PARTELLUS SWINHOE (LEPIDOPTERA; PYRALIDAE) AT PESHAWAR AND SWAT VALLEYS OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN MANZOOR AHMAD MASHWANI* FARMAN ULLAH*, SHAHID SATTAR*, SAJJAD AHMAD** and MUHAMMAD ANWAR KHAN* * Department of Plant Protection, Agricultural University, Peshawar Pakistan. ** Department of Entomology, Agricultural University, Peshawar Pakistan. ABSTRACT To study the relative efficacy of different insecticides as seed dressers, granules and foliar formulations against maize stem borer (MSB) (Chilo partellus) in maize crop, two experiments were conducted at Peshawar and Swat Valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The results of both the field experiments were somewhat similar where seed dressers (Confidor and Actara ) were found considerably more effective as compared to granules and foliar sprays. As a whole the insecticides treatments resulted in 50% reduction of MSB infestation as compared to control. Confidor was the most effective among the treatments causing % reduction in C. partellus infestation. This was followed by Actara with 88% infestation reduction as compared to control. Key words: Chilo partellus, Maize stem borer, Seed dressers, Granules, Foliar insecticides Citation: Mashwani, A.M., Farman Ullah, S. Sattar, S. Ahmand and M.A. Khan Efficacy of different insecticides against maize stem borer, chilo partellus swinhoe (Lepicoptera: Pyralidae) at Peshawar and Swat valleys of Khyber Pakhutunkhwa, Pakistan. Sarhad J. Agric. 27(3): INTRODUCTION Maize stem borer, Chilo partellus Swinhoe (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is one of the major biotic constraints in successful maize and sorghum production worldwide (Pingali, 2001; James, 2003), particularly in Asia and Africa (Siddiqui & Marwaha, 1993; Arabjafari & Jalali, 2007). It has been reported to cause severe losses in maize crop throughout its geographical distribution including Pakistan. Yield losses of 24-75% have been reported by the attack of this pest alone (Kumar & Mihm, 1995, 1996; Kumar, 2002; Khan, 1983). Farid et al. (2007) reported 10 50% damage by maize stem borer in Peshawar valley. Yield losses caused by stem borers in Africa could be as high as 80% for maize (Van den Berg 2009) and as much as 88% in sorghum (Seshu Reddy, 1988). A variety of insecticide chemistries and formulations have been found effective against the pest. Granular formulations of chlorpyriphos and carbofuran were reported effective against the pest by Bhat and Baba (2007). Similarly Ullah et al. (1992) observed that granular application of insecticides showed better control of maize stem borer as compared to the emulsifiable concentrates (EC) as a foliar application at Peshawar, Pakistan. Seed treatment with carbofuron and endosulfan has also been reported as useful against the pest (Sekhon and Kanta, 1992). Contrary to the observations of Bhat and Baba (2007) and Ullah et al. (1992), Singh and Sharma (2009) determined that Chlorpyriphos was ineffective as compared to cypermethrin (foliar application). These contradictory observations and the introduction of newer chemicals in the market necessitate testing of these compounds for efficacy against the pest on regular basis. Keeping in view the importance of the crop, the devastating capacity of the pest and the ever dynamic pesticide market, the present research work was initiated to investigate the suitability of some insecticides for effective and safe suppression of C. partellus. MATERIALS AND METHODS To study the relative efficacy of different insecticides as seed dressers, granules and foliar formulations against Chilo partellus in maize crop, two experiments were conducted at Peshawar and Swat Valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The chemicals and seed were obtained from local authorized dealers. Insecticides The insecticides used in the first experiment included two seed dressers of the Neonicotinoid group (Actar a-70ws- Thiomethoxim and Confidor - 70WS Imidacloprid, 5 gm kg -1 seed), two granular insecticides of the Carbamate group (Monomehypo - 7 kg acre -1, Furadan - 3G 8 kg acre -1 and one granular formulation of Organophosphate (Padan 3G 9 kg acre -1 ), and four foliar insecticides;

2 Manzoor Ahmad Mashwani et al. Efficacy of different insecticides against maize stem borer 460 Imicon -25 WP 100 gm acre -1 ), Dipterex 80 SP (Trichlorofon, 1 gm l -1 ), Lorsban 40EC- (Chlorpyriphos, 5 ml l -1 ) and Regent 35 SC (Fipronil- 5 ml l -1 ). The second experiment included Actara -70WS, Confidor - 70WS, Furadan - 3G and Deltaphos 36EC (Deltamethrin10g+ Triazophos 350gm l -1, Pyrethroid+ Organophosphate 0.60 l acre -1 ). Simple tap water was used in the check plots in both the experiments. Procedure Experiment 1. Effects of insecticides on maize stem borer infestation at KP-AUP, Peshawar. A local, open pollinated maize variety Azam was sown in a randomized complete block design (RCBD), with four replications. The crop was sown on a well-prepared seedbed, using a single row hand drill planter. The plot size was 5 4 m 2, having 5 rows and each row was having initial plantation of about 100 seedlings. The row-torow distance was 75 cm. Plant to plant distance was initially 5 cm but latter on maintained to about 20 cm. A buffer zone of 1 meter wide was kept between the plots to isolate them from each other. A basal dose of 48 kg Nitrogen acre -1 as urea and 15.6 kg phosphorus acre -1 (36 kg P 2 O 5 acre -1) as single super phosphate was applied. All the phosphorus and 1/3 of the nitrogen were applied at the time of sowing. The remaining 2/3 of the nitrogen was applied in equal split doses at the initial reproductive and tasselling stage. The first irrigation was given two (2) weeks after sowing and subsequent irrigations were given as needed. Two hoeing were made for weed eradication while one earthing up was made 4 weeks after sowing. All the treatments were left to natural infestation. Seed dressers were applied 24 hours prior to planting and insecticides (both granules and foliar spays) were applied 26 days after emergence. Experiment 2. Effects of insecticides on maize stem borer infestation at Madyan, Swat. In the light of the first experiment, a second experiment with limited number of treatments was conducted at Madyan, Swat. The same maize variety Azam was sown in randomized complete block design with three replications. Confidor and Actara were applied as a seed dresser 24 hours before seed sowing. Furadan was applied as granules at the base of the plants and Deltaphos was applied as a foliar spray, 21 days after emergence. All agronomic practices were kept similar as explained in the previous experiment. Data collection and Analysis For the extent of infestation, leaf holes, larval excreta, leaf scratches, dead heart and presence of larvae were used as criteria for infested plants which was then converted into total percent infestation and mean percent infestation for the season. The first observation on maize stem borer infestation was made 25 days post emergence while the rest of observations were made at weekly intervals for the first experiment and fortnightly in case of the second one. MSB population trend and treatment means data were analyzed using combined analysis of variance. Important pre planned comparisons were done in ANOVA and Fisher s LSD test was used to compare treatments with check. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Experiment 1 Data on maize stem borer infestation as affected by various insecticides at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar (KP AUP), are given in (Table I). The data given in the third column (April 14) were recorded on plots before application of insecticides (used as granules and spray) and on check plots, and on plots in which seed treated with Confidor and Actara had been planted, so in this column only the effects of seed dressers are evident and the other insecticides effect is not there as these were applied after recording the data at this date. The data given in the fourth column were recorded on the next day of application of the insecticides as granules and spray and thereafter, data were recorded at weekly interval. The statistical analysis of the Maize Stem Borer (MSB) data recorded at each date (weekly interval) and of the seasonal average data showed that differences among the various insecticides were significant at all the dates as well as cumulative average for each season. The combined analysis of the data from all the six dates showed that main effect of insecticides treatments and time of recording data were significant. Interaction between insecticides treatments and times of recording data was also significant Table I.

3 Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.27, No.3, Table I Percent maize stem borer infestation (pre and post application of various insecticides) with time and seasonal average stem borer infestation as affected by insecticides in maize planted at New Developed Farm, Agric. Univ. Peshawar, Pakistan Treatments Mode of Application April 14 April 15 April 21 April 28 May 5 May 12 Seasonal average Confidor Seed dresser I Actara Seed dresser H Padan Granules F Furadan Granules G Monomehypo Granules D Amicon Spray E Regent Spray C Lorsban Spray B Dipterex Spray D Check No insecticides used A Overall average 6.44 A 7.55 B 8.48 C 9.32D 10.92E 12.47F 9.20 Insecticides average Seed dressers average Granules and spray average Spray average Granules average The first data recorded on 14 April shows the effect of seed dresser applied to the seed before sowing while in case of other plots the data were recorded before application of the insecticides as granules and sprays on the same date. Means of the same category followed by different letters are significant using Fisher protected LSD at the 5 % level of probability Infestation in check plots reached about 22%, indicating severe infestation when no control measures were adopted, whereas, the use of insecticides reduced the seasonal infestation to about 11% which showed that insecticides reduced the damage by 50% as compared to check plots. The seasonal average of MSB infestations revealed that all the insecticides controlled MSB as differences between insecticides treated plots and check plots were significant. Confidor was much better than all the insecticides as its seasonal average of MSB infestation was the lowest. Regent and Lorsban had the higher MSB infestation as compared to the other insecticides. The three important meaningful group contrasts show that insecticides used as seed dressers were better than insecticides used as granules and as spray for the control of MSB. Single degree of freedom contrast between the three insecticides used as granules and the four insecticides used as spray showed that granules application was better than spray. The average MSB infestation for the different times after application of insecticides showed that average borer infestation increased from 6.44% recorded on April 14 to 12.47% on May 14, while in control plots, the infestation increased from 6.66 to 22.27% during same period. The end of seasonal infestation results showed that Confidor as seed dressers, Furadan as granules and Imicon as spray are more effective for a longer time. Per cent borer infestation Check= T T , R 2 = Padan=0.6231T , R 2 = Furadan= T T+7.217, R 2 =0.805 Mano=0.8256T , R 2 = Actara=1.62T , R 2 = Confidar=1.0078T R 2 = April14 April15 April21 April28 May5 May12 Timeof recordingdataonstemborer ConfidorWS ActaraWS Padan3G Furadan3G Manomehypo4G Check Linear(ConfidorWS) Linear(ActaraWS) Linear(Padan3G) Poly.(Furadan3G) Linear(Manomehypo4G) Poly.(Check) Fig. 1. Trend of average stem borer infestation with time as affected by seed dressers and granular insecticides application and in check plots of maize planted at New Develop Farm, Agricultural University, Peshawar.

4 Manzoor Ahmad Mashwani et al. Efficacy of different insecticides against maize stem borer 462 The interaction between insecticides treatments and times of recording data is significant, the trends of the MSB infestation with time as affected by the insecticides treatments are presented in (Fig. 1 & 2). Regression line and original data points for insecticides used as seed dressers, insecticides used as granules and for check plots given in Fig. 1, showed that linear and polynomial regression fitted the data well as shown by the coefficient of determination (R 2 ) of the fitted lines; r-square ranged from to , indicating 84 to almost 100% of the total variation in original data points being explained by the regression equations. The intercepts for the seed dressers are lower than the other treatments because they controlled maize stem borer from the beginning of the seedlings emergence. The regression coefficient for confidor was ; the coefficient denotes the slope of the line which shows that in plots of Confidor, MSB infestation increased at the rate of about 1 per cent per week after seed treatment with Confidor. The slope for regression line of Confidor was smaller than slope of the line for Actara, indicating that Confidor had longer action for MSB control. The granules and the check plots trend seem to have originated from a common point on 14 th April, because at that time the granules were not applied. Furadan, Padan and Monomehypo controlled MSB with minor differences for one to two weeks. Thereafter, slight differences started which shows that the differences in the efficacy with Furadan having the lowest coefficients indicating that this insecticide had much more persistent effect over time followed by Padan and Monomehypo. The same trend is evident from visual observation of the regression lines and from the regression coefficients. The trend for Furadan looks linear but second-degree polynomial was fitted because the linear regression had very low R 2 (0.0559) and very low regression coefficient. The T 2 coefficient for Furadan is very low and that is why the line looks somewhat linear. Trends for insecticides used as spray and check plots are given in Fig. 2. The two linear and the three polynomial regression lines fitted the MSB infestation data very well with coefficient of determination ranging from to Imicon controlled MSB infestation more effectively as compared to other insecticides used as spray; the linear trend line for Imicon showed that its effect on reduction MSB infestation continued for longer time as shown by the smallest regression coefficient of among the nine insecticides used in the experiment. Dipterex also had better control. Almost similar trend lines fitted the MSB infestation data from plots where Regent and Lorsban had been sprayed; in plots of both of these insecticides the effect of spray started to diminish after two weeks as the trend line stated to show upward trend and that is why quadratic equation gave a good fit to the MSB data. Percent borer infestation Check= T T , R 2 = Regent =0.4462T T , R 2 =0.992 Dipterex=0.8781T , R 2 = Lorsban=0.2439T T , R 2 = Imecone=0.2634T ,R 2 = April14 April15 April21 April28 May5 May12 Timeofrecordingdataonstemborerinfestation Imecone25WP Regent S Lorsban Diptrex Check Linear(Imecone25WP) Poly.(Regent S) Poly.(Lorsban) Linear(Diptrex) Poly.(Check) Experiment 2 Fig. 2. Trend of average stem borer infestation with time as affected by insecticides used as spray and in check plots of maize planted at New Developed Farm, Agricultural University, Peshawar. Data on maize stem borer infestation as affected by various insecticides in maize planted at Madyan, Swat, are given in Table II. The statistical analyses of the data recorded at each stage showed that insecticides had significant effect on maize stem borer infestation recorded at various dates (Time interval). The combined analysis of the data showed that insecticides had significant effect on reduction of MSB and significant reduction in percent infestation was seen among the times of recording data. The interaction between the two factors, insecticides treatments x times of recording data, was also significant.

5 Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.27, No.3, Table II Percent stem borer infestation of various insecticides in maize planted at Madyan, Swat Treatments Mode of Application Jul 16 Jul 30 Aug 15 Aug 30 Sep 15 Seasonal Average Confidor Seed dresser E Actara Seed dresser D Furadan Granules C Deltaphos Spray B Check A Overall Average 0.59 A 2.34 B 5.90 C 9.61 D E 5.99 Insecticides Average Seed dressers average LSD for Insecticides = 0.19 LSD for Time Interval = 0.21 LSD for Insecticides x Time Interval = 0.47 Means of the same category followed by different letters are significant using Fisher protected LSD at the 5 % level of probability. As compared to the check plots where no insecticides were used, the seed dressers, granules and spray significantly reduced MBS infestation (seasonal average infestation vs and end of seasonal infestation check vs. insecticides average). The lowest seasonal MSB infestation of 1.58 per cent was recorded in plots in which seed treated with Confidor had been used during planting, thus Confidor was much better than all the insecticides for the control of MSB. Actara as seed dresser and Furadan as granules also controlled MSB; however, the use of Deltaphos as spray was not as effective as the other insecticides for controlling MSB at Madyan. The meaningful contrasts given in the combined ANOVA showed that insecticides used as seed dressers were better than insecticides used as granules and spray for the control of MSB; and Furadan used as granules was better than Deltaphos used as spray. The average MSB infestations at different stages after application of insecticides show that borer infestation increased from 0.44 % recorded on July 16 to 9.61 percent on September 15, while in control plots the infestation increased from 1.16 % to % during same period of two months. The end of seasonal infestation shows that seed dressers controlled borer attack to a greater extent, 4.47 averages for seed dressers compared to for check plots. The time trends of MSB in the plots of different treatments are not the same as shown by significant insecticide treatments x times interaction Fig. 3. Regression lines and original data points for the 5 treatments show that linear trends fitted the MSB infestation data well as shown by the high coefficients of determination ranging from to Insecticides used as seed dressers gave better control of MSB than insecticides used as granules and spray. The intercepts for all the insecticides in (Fig. 3) are close to zero because the borer infestation in all the plots was low in the beginning. The fitted line for Confidor had the lowest slope indicating more extended control of the MSB followed by Actara, which was also used as seed dresser. Furadan also controlled MSB but to a lesser extent. Deltaphos was not much effective against MSB because its trend line was close to the trend line of check and the slope for these two treatments were about the same as shown by the regression coefficient of for Deltaphos and for check. Generally, there was lower infestation in Swat as compared to Peshawar when results of the two experiments at the locations are compared. Per cent borer infestation Confidor = T , R 2 = Actara = T , R 2 = Furadan = T , R 2 = Deltaphos = 4.478T , R 2 = Check = 4.849T , R 2 = July 16 July 30 Aug 15 Aug 30 Sep 15 C onfidor A ctara F uradan D eltapho s C heck Linear (Confidor) Linear (Actara) Linear (Furadan) Linear (Deltaphos) Linear (Check) Time of recording data on stem borer (day of the year and date) Fig. 3. Trends of average stem borer infestation with time as affected by insecticides application in maize planted at Madyan, Swat.

6 Manzoor Ahmad Mashwani et al. Efficacy of different insecticides against maize stem borer 464 It is evident form the results that there are significant differences among the infestation levels of different insecticides and control. The results obtained from these two experiments are in agreement with many research workers (Bhat and Baba, 2007; Ahmad et al., 2002; Javed et al., 1998, Rahman et al., 1998), who also reported differences among the efficiency of insecticides for the control of maize stem borer. The two field experiments further revealed that seed dressing with Confidor is superior among the tested insecticides and is recommended as a control measure against the MSB. The results regarding superiority of Confidor as seed dresser for control of maize stem borer is in conformity with those of Rehman et al. (1998), who reported that Confidor used as seed dresser reduced average Maize Stem Borer infestation followed by Deltaphos and Furadan. However, Bhat and Baba (2007) reported superiority of Carbofuran (Furadan) and Chlorpyrifos (Lorsban), but they used different formulations and different rates of application. In this study granular application of insecticides was slightly superior to insecticides used as spray for control of MSB. Similar results on the comparison of granules application in whorl and foliar application were reported by Bhatt and Baba (2007), who reported that these two treatments recorded significantly highest yield than rest of all the treatment applications and resulted in maximum net returns. However, they used Imidacloprid (Confidor ) as a foliar application rather then as a seed dresser. While working on the time and method of Furadan application for controlling MSB, Javed et al. (1998) determined that soil application of Furadan at the time of sowing along with a 2 nd dose as a whorl application 20 days post germination was the most effective as compared to other treatments. Differences in the trends of borer infestation of different treatment studied in these experiments as indicated by regression equation fitted to the data recorded at intervals have also been reported by other workers (Bhat and Baba 2007; Javed et al., 1998 and Ahmad et al., 2002), though very few fitted regression model have been reported. The differences in slops of the trend lines indicate the persistency of insecticides. Some insecticides (Seed dressers) have longer effects than others and the smaller regression coefficient indicate that the effects were more persistent. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS It could be concluded that the insecticides resulted in 50% reduction of MSB infestation as compared to control. Confidor followed by Actara were the most effective among the treatments for causing and 88% reductions in C. partellus infestation as compared to the control. REFERENCES Ahmad, S., A. Mushtaq and I. Rauf Field efficacy of some bio-insecticides against maize and jowar stem borer, Chilo partellus (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Int l. J. Agric. & Biol. 4(3): Arabjafari, K.H. and S.K. Jalali Identification and analysis of host plant resistance in leading maize genotypes against spotted stem borer, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Pak. J. Biol. Sci. 10(11): Bhat, Z.H. and Z.A. Baba Efficacy of different insecticides against maize stem borer, Chilo Partellus (Swinhoe ) and maize Aphid, Rhopalosiphum maids (Fitch) infesting maize. Pak. Entomol. 29(2): Farid, A., M.I.N. Khan, A. Khan, S.U.K. Khattak, Alamzeb and A. Sattar Study on maize stem borer, Chilo partellus (Swin.) in Peshawar valley: Pak. J. Zool. 9(2): Habib-ur-Rahman, I., J. Habib and M. Aslam Efficacy of seed dressing, and insecticides for control of Chilo partellus (Swin.). Sarhad J. Agric. 14(6): James, C Global Review of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2002 Feature: Bt Maize. ISAAA. Brief No. 29. ISAAA: Ithaca, New York. Javed, H.I., R. Habib, A. Mohammad, R. Raqib and M. Aslam Economic method of Furadan application against maize stem borer, Chilo partellus (Swin.). Sarhad. J. Agric. 14: Khan, B.M Studies on the biology and control of maize stem borer in Peshawar. Bullet. Zool. 1: Kumar, H Resistance in maize to larger grain borer, Prosphanus truncates (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae). J. Stored Prod. Res. 38: Kumar, H. and J.A. Mihm Antibiosis and tolerance to fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar and sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis Fabricius in selected maize hybrids and varieties. Maydica. 40:

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