author(s)
Arulkumar G, YS Johnson Thangaraj Edward, K Bhuvaneswari, N Chandra Sekaran, P Jeyaprakash and M Senthilkumar

abstract
Pesticides are predominantly used to manage rice leaffolder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis Guenee, killing both pests and natural enemies. Used as biofertilizers, phytostimulators, rhizoremediators and biopesticides in crop production, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are likely to reduce the impact of pesticides on natural enemies, if compatible. Flubendiamide in combination with a LAB formulation was evaluated against C. medinalis and natural enemies in in replicated field trials. Flubendiamide 20 WG @ 25 g a.i. ha^-1 + LAB reduced the leaffolder damage by 72.03 – 78.48 per cent, whereas flubendiamide 20 WG @ 25 g a.i. ha^-1 alone by 65.39 – 69.0 per cent, and LAB alone by 28.11 – 31.74 per cent, compared to the control plots. Coccinellids, spiders and rove beetle were more abundant in plots where LAB was sprayed (3.49, 6.96, 8.66 / 10 hills respectively) than in flubendiamide sprays with or without LAB (1.47 – 2.48, 3.54 – 5.18, 5.02 – 6.70 / 10 hills respectively)