ICAR – National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Bengaluru organised a Coconut Development Board Sponsored Training on ‘Recent Advances in Good Agricultural Practices for Management of Emerging Insect pests in Coconut’ from 29th April – 3rd April 2024 for Subject Matter Specialist (Plant Protection) of ICAR- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Plant Protection Officers (Entomology) of Central Integrated Pest Management Centres, Horticultural Extension officials of the Department of Horticulture, Development Officers of Coconut Development Board to disseminate the bio-control technologies developed at the Bureau to curtail the recent emerging insect pests in coconut.
Dr. S.N. Sushil, Director, ICAR-NBAIR interacted with trainees and discussed the biological control of recent invasive insect pests through bio-control agents. He also urged the trainees to disseminate these technologies to growers for the sustainable management of these emerging pests in coconut and their bio-control strategies.
The training focused on identifying and managing emerging pests like whiteflies, coconut black-headed caterpillars, eriophid mite, and slug caterpillars, their natural enemies, and mass production protocols for parasitoids, predators, and entomopathogens. It covered various strategies for bio-control agents and behavior approaches for coconut pest management, including augmentative and conservation approaches.
The study covers crop protection practices, coconut-based farming systems, pollinator conservation, and IndGap certificate schemes for good agricultural practices. It also highlights the use of resources like pesticides, fertilizers, water, and eco-friendly agriculture. It also highlights the release of natural enemies and foliar application of entomopathogens in the coconut ecosystem.
A total of 20 trainees from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, participated in the training programme.
(Source: ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Bengaluru)
