NAVEEN GAUTAM, M. A. MANSURI, K. SINGH, AND R. SWAMINATHAN

A field experiment was carried out to evaluate some botanicals against shoot-feeding pests of sorghum in a Randomized Block Design with 3 replications at the Instructional Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur during kharif, 2013. Among the botanicals evaluated for the management of shoot fly (Atherigona soccata Rondani), neem oil (3 %) was more effective with mean egg laying 41.15 and 45.00 per cent at 1st and 3rd day after treatment. The population reduction of shoot-bug (Peregrinus maidis Ashmead) due to the plant oil treatments was effective for 1st and 3rd day after treatment with 40.92 and 39.31 per cent reduction due to neem oil (3%), 36.90 and 32.61 per cent due to karanj oil (3%) and 34.7  and 33.40 per cent reduction due to nirgundi oil (3%). In case of leaf folder, neem oil (3%), karanj oil (3%) and nirgundi oil (3%) were effective with percent reduction of 46.53, 44.16 and 41.75, respectively. The maximum grain yield of 32.22 q/ ha and highest Cost Benefit Ratio of 1: 1.48 was recorded from neem oil (3%) treated plots.