Crop Protection

Dipping of sugarcane setts in Imidacloprid 70 WS at 0.1 per cent for 5 minutes controls termites.
Rhizome treatment with imidacloprid at 0.5 ml/l for 20 minutes is effective against rhizome scale in turmeric.
Phosalone was found highly effective against mango hopper.
Sunbirds and Little spider hunter are found to be the bioindicators of aphid incidence in Tobacco.
Furrow application of carbofuran 3G @ 1 kg a.i/ha and foliar spray of acephate 75 SP @ 250 g/ha were found highly effective against tobacco aphids.
Gymnema sylvestris extract is effective against sucking, chewing and borer pests.
The parasitoid Acerophagus papayae is very effective in reducing the papaya mealybug Paracoccus marginatus on papaya, tapioca and mulberry. The parasitoids were multiplied and supplied to the farmers of Erode district.

Spraying carbendazim 0.1 per cent cholorthalonil 0.2 per cent, mancozeb 0.2 per cent and NSKE 5 per cent at boot leaf stage and panicle emergence was found to control rice sheath rot effectively
Carbendazim @ 4g/kg of seed eliminates seed borne Colletotrichum capsici upto 60 days in storage resulting in higher germination in chillies.
Rhizome treatment with Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 10 kg/ha and soil application of neem cake reduces nematode population in turmeric.
Root rot in blackgram is controlled by seed treatment with Trichoderma viride, T.harzianum and neem leaf extract (10%).
Coconut leaf blight caused by Biopolaris incuwata, Coleus root rot caused by Macrophomina phaseolina and Stevia root rot caused by Sclerotium rolfsii are identified and reported for the first time in India.

Salient findings in bee research

Placing honey bee hives @ 4 Nos./ha was found to enhance seed set in sunflower by 15-20 per cent.
Colony capturing techniques were standardized for hiving stingless bees from wall cavities
A wooden box hive was designed for keeping stingless bees.
Trigona iridipennis was abundant at the time of flowering initiation in sunflower. Both Apis cerana indica and dorsata were more during initial and peak stages of flowering and less during the time cessation of flowering.
Major honeybee species attracted to sunflower were dorsata, A. cerana indica and A. florea.
Two species of lesser carpenter bee Ceratina binghami, C. smaragdula, a species of carpenter bee (Xylocopa sp), a species of blue banded bee (Amegilla sp) and a species of stingless bee ( iridipennis ) were the non- Apis bees recorded in sunflower.

A rock bee smoker was developed which is an effective device for generating and delivering smoke on the arboreal/terrestrial nests of rock bees built in inaccessible locations. Instead of killing rock bee colonies mercilessly which is in vogue, the bee colonies are driven out whenever they pose problems to human life by using this device. Use of this device for delivering smoke ensures safety for both the operator and targeted rock bees.