White grub (Leucopholis coneophora burmeister) management in Mid-Hill region of Meghalaya

White grubs are one of the most damaging soil insect pests inflicting economic losses in groundnut cultivation in India. The white grub Leucopholis coneophora (Burmeister) is a polyphagous pest of coconut and intercrops. However, in the mid-hill region of Meghalaya, the occurrence of this species was recorded, which calls for an investigation. Also, there is a need to develop location-specific and easily adoptable climate-ready technologies before it attains pest status. In this context, a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of few insecticides and bioformulations with different methods of application. Results showed that seed treatment with imidacloprid 17.8SL @ 3ml/ kg seeds proved to be the most effective by exhibiting the lowest grub incidence (0.17 grubs/ 12 sq m plot) and minimum plant infestation (1.82%). For bioformulations, field spraying with Metarrhizium anisopliae (1×10⁸ spores/ml @5ml/ l) was found to be superior over Beauveria bassiana at the same dose. These results will aid in formulating an ecofriendly IPM strategy for white grubs in this climate-resilient region of India.