author(s)
Dr. Shanmugam PS, K Indhumathi and M Sangeetha

abstract
Ash weevil Myllocerus subfasciatus Guerin-Meneville causes damage to the brinjal throughout the year. The subterranean grubs cause damage to the roots which results in wilting, drying and death of the infested plants. The farmers depend on soil and foliar insecticide application to manage grubs and adult damage in brinjal. The subterranean nature of grubs and pupae make it difficult to manage and lead to increased plant protection cost. On farm trails were laid out during 2016 -17 to compare the farmer management practices (M1) with the other management modules viz., 8 – 10% oiled neem cake application @ 250 kg/ha before planting and at 45 and 90 days after planting (DAP) (M2), entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) application @ 2.5kg/ha before planting and at 30 days interval till 150 DAP (M3) and mulching along with EPN application @ 2.5kg/ha before planting and at 30 days interval till 150 DAP (M4). The farmers practice recorded 80% ash weevil damage at 150 DAP whereas in the neem cake (M2) and EPN application (M3) it was ranged between 35 to 42.50% and 15.00 to 22.50% respectively. The combination of mulching and EPN (M4) recorded zero incidence of M. subfasciatus up to 30 DAP and 2.50 to 7.50% damage up to 150 DAP. The yield was 825q/ha, 950q/ha 1075q/ha and 1187q/ha respectively for the farmers practice (M1), neem cake application (M2), EPN application (M3) and mulching with neem cake application (M4) modules. The cost of plant protection was Rs. 95,000/ha in the farmers practice (M1) and Rs. 30,000/ha in the mulching with EPN application (M4). The benefit cost ratio was more in the mulching with EPN application (6.78) and lower in the farmers practice (3.66). The mulching along with Entompathogenic nematode application is the ideal combination to combat the M. subfasciatus incidence in brinjal.