Title of project: Development of management tools for maize pests
Project funding: Institute
Duration: 1/1/2014 to 30/6/2019
Total approved cost of the project: NA

Objectives:

1. Habitat management to support parasitoids and predators
2. Exploring the use of semiochemicals for management of stem borers
3. Development of easy methods for determining economic threshold level and crop loss assessment
4. Improvement in methods of maize germplasm screening and finding common germplasm which are resistant both for insect borers and diseases
5. Identification of unexplored biological control agents in maize ecosystem
6. Development of forecasting models for maize pests

Project team:
PI: Pradyumn Kumar (up to 29/2/2016), Suby SB (1/3/2016 onwards)
Co-PIs: JC Sekhar, Lakshmi Soujanya P, Amrender Kumar

Major achievements: –

1. Developed an easy method of crop loss assessment for stem borer and a template
2. Ovipositional preference is a potential tool for germplasm screening for pink stemborer resistance
3. Penetration resistance of seventh internode in V6-10 stage maize plants is a promising trait for C. partellus resistance breeding
4. Husk extension is a promising trait for H. armigera resistance screening, and is stable under irrigated and water deficit stress
5. Native Btk strains BB1 & BB2 are as potent as international check HD1 against C. partellus