Impact of Weather Variables on Radish Insect Pests in the Eastern Himalayas and Organic Management Strategies

Sandip Patra (), Sabina Rai, Debasish Chakraborty (), Rumki H. C. Sangma, Sutanu Majumder, Khrieketou Kuotsu, Mahasweta Chakraborty, Pankaj Baiswar, Binay K. Singh, Aniruddha Roy (), Nongmaithem Uttam Singh (), Veronica Kadam, Mahesh Pathak and R. K. Tombisana Devi
Additional contact information
Sandip Patra: ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam 793103, Meghalay, India
Sabina Rai: College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University, Umiam 793103, Meghalaya, India
Debasish Chakraborty: ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam 793103, Meghalay, India
Rumki H. C. Sangma: ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam 793103, Meghalay, India
Sutanu Majumder: College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University, Umiam 793103, Meghalaya, India
Khrieketou Kuotsu: ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam 793103, Meghalay, India
Mahasweta Chakraborty: ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam 793103, Meghalay, India
Pankaj Baiswar: ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam 793103, Meghalay, India
Binay K. Singh: ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam 793103, Meghalay, India
Aniruddha Roy: ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam 793103, Meghalay, India
Nongmaithem Uttam Singh: ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam 793103, Meghalay, India
Veronica Kadam: College of Horticulture, Central Agricultural University, Thenzawl, Aizawl 796186, Mizoram, India
Mahesh Pathak: College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University, Umiam 793103, Meghalaya, India
R. K. Tombisana Devi: College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University, Umiam 793103, Meghalaya, India

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-21

Abstract: This study analyzed the impact of weather variables on insect pest dynamics and their diversity in the radish ecosystem through field experiments conducted for two years at a locality in the eastern Himalayas. The relationship with weather variables was studied with six different dates of sowing, and diversity was assessed using standard indices. Various organic management options were also evaluated. Results revealed that temperature had a positive impact, whereas relative humidity and rainfall negatively affected the population of insect pests. The radish ecosystem harbors diverse insect species, including natural enemies, with higher species richness (4.8–5.2) and lower year-to-year variability. Organic management strategies such as neem oil, Beauveria bassiana , and Metarhizium robertsii demonstrated good efficacy against flea beetles without compromising yield, resulting in 39.76%, 39.39%, and 38.71% pest reduction over control, respectively. These biopesticides also recorded less than half to one-fourth reduction in natural predators like coccinellids compared to cypermethrin, a chemical pesticide (74%). The study suggests that, under projected climate change with higher temperatures, pest populations are assumed to increase. Considering the insect diversity of the eastern Himalayas, organic management strategies will be an adaptation strategy to conserve biodiversity while ensuring environment-friendly pest management.

Keywords: climatic variability; insect diversity; radish; insect pests; bio-pesticides; ecofriendly management; population dynamics; natural enemies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/7/2946/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/7/2946/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:7:p:2946-:d:1368792

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().