author(s)
MP Yeshika, KG Banuprakash and K Murali Mohan

abstract
Five novel insecticides along with dichlorvos as standard check were evaluated against pink mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) under field conditions. The treatment dinotefuran 20 SG @ 0.25 g/l recorded the highest mealybug mortality at both 7 DAS (78.78 %) and 15 DAS (99.44 %) owing to its unique mode of action. Phytotoxicity symptoms assessed on mulberry revealed that all the insecticides except flonicamid 50 WG (0.15 and 0.3 g/l) had no phytotoxic effect on mulberry plants at both 7 and 15 DAS. Among the insecticides tested, dinotefuran 20 SG @ 0.12 g/l and azadirachtin 1 % @ 1 ml/l recorded maximum coccinellid beetle population per plant at 7 and15 DAS. Along with the effective management of mealybugs owing to lesser phytotoxicity, dinotefuran 20 SG @ 0.25 g/l also recorded higher leaf yield of 4,545.68 kg/ha/crop. Lowest leaf yield was recorded in flonicamid 50 WG @ 0.3 g/l (2,879.24 kg/ha/crop) due to phytotoxic symptoms at 15 DAS coinciding with the mulberry leaf harvest.