Response of beneficial arthropods to sequential insecticide applications in cotton agro-ecosystem

Authors

  • Dalip Kumar Department of Entomology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India
  • Khyali Ram Department of Entomology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India
  • Deepika Kalkal Department of Entomology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India
  • Harish Kumar Department of Entomology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India
  • Ravikant Department of Zoology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India
  • Bhupender Singh Department of Entomology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India
  • Pavitra Kumari Department of Plant Pathology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India
  • Vivek Kumar Saini Department of Zoology, Government College, Hisar, Haryana, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64171/JAE.6.1.31-40

Keywords:

Cotton, Green lacewing, Ladybird beetle, Nymphal parasitization, Spider, Yellow paper Wasp, Whitefly

Abstract

An experiment was conducted in Kharif crop season with transgenic hybrid cotton (RCH 650 in spacing of 1.00 × 0.45 meters with a plot size of 7.0 × 5.85 meters) replicated thrice at Research Farm, Cotton Research Station, Sirsa to record the relative toxicity and build-up of natural enemies after application of different insecticide in cotton habitat. Field evaluation of insecticides in cotton agroecosystem showed that monocrotophos 36 SL, profenophos 50 EC, imidacloprid 200 SL, and dimethoate 30 EC caused severe reductions in natural enemies populations. Monocrotophos 36 SL recorded the lowest mean populations of ladybird beetle (0.24 adults/plant) and spiders (0.47–1.08 spiders/plant), while profenophos 50 EC resulted in minimum green lacewing abundance (0.46–0.69 larvae/plant) and yellow wasp activity (0.07–0.12 wasps/plant). Nymphal parasitization of whitefly was also lowest under monocrotophos 36 SL (4.22–4.36%) and imidacloprid 200 SL (≈5.37%). In contrast, water and nimbecidine 300 ppm supported higher populations of natural enemies and parasitization levels (up to 5.95%), indicating their relative safety in the cotton ecosystem. Thus, while selecting an insecticide for the management of a target pest, negative effects on natural enemies, it’s survival and growth, reproduction and changes in behaviour must be kept in mind.

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Published

2026-02-17

How to Cite

[1]
D. Kumar, “Response of beneficial arthropods to sequential insecticide applications in cotton agro-ecosystem”, J. Appl. Entomol., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 31–40, Feb. 2026.

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2026)

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Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Dalip Kumar, Khyali Ram, Deepika Kalkal, Harish Kumar, Ravikant, Bhupender Singh, Pavitra Kumari, Vivek Kumar Saini

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.