Ecologically-engineered seeds to enhance coccinellid and suppress aphid population in cabbage ecosystem

Present investigations on field evaluation of ecologically-engineered seeds for coccinellids enhancement were conducted at Naraseepuram, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu during March to June 2017 with 17 different treatments. Experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. Seed germination ranged from 45.7 (T₁₇: Control) to 76.0 (T₉: Cabbage + CMC 5% + B bassiana 3 g + mycorrhizae 4 g + P flouroscens) per cent. The root length varied from 9.5 (T₁₅) to 18.1 (T₉) cm; shoot length varied from 9.5 to 18.1 cm with maximum 18.1 cm in T₉which was at par with T₅, T₁ and T₂. Shoot length varied from 5.0 to 8.3 cm with maximum in case of T₉ and minimum 5.0 cm in control. The dry matter production lied in the range of 0.024 to 0.046 mg/10 seedlings with maximum in T₉. T₉ also recorded highest vigour index (1598.05). The maximum meannumber of coccinelids/plant was recorded in T₉(3.31) as compared to minimumin control(0.88). The minimum mean number of aphids/inch²/leaf was recorded in T₉(8.3) as compared to maximum in control (16.0).