Eco-Friendly Management of Potato Tuber Moth (Phthorima operculella Zeller) Under Storage and Field Condition in Dailekh, Nepal

Potato tuber moth, (Phthorima operculella Zeller) is one of the most destructive pests of potato damaging the potato tuber in the field and storage conditions leading to a huge loss of potato tubers. An experiment was conducted to access the effect of different treatments for eco-friendly management of potato tuber moth in field and storage conditions in Dailekh, Nepal. The experiment was conducted in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and Completely Randomized Design (CRD) in field and storage condition respectively with 10 different treatments and 3 replications. The treatments were T1(Control), T2(Bacillus thuringiensis), T3(Artemisia vulgaris), T4(Malathion) as check, T5(Lantana camara), T6(Coriandrum sativum), T7(Curcuma longa), T8(Azadirachta indica oil 5%EC), T9(Justicia adhatoda) and T10(Yucca sp.). Among the different treatments, Azadirachta indica oil 5%EC showed the least foliage damage and severity which was statistically at par with Malathion and Curcuma longa. Similarly, the Pre-sowing treatment of tuber with Malathion had the least infection caused by PTM at tuber harvest which was at par with pre-sowing treatment with Curcuma longa, Yucca sp. and Bacillus thuringiensis. Tubers treated with Malathion before storage showed the least infection percentage and severity caused by PTM followed by Coriandrum sativum, Curcuma longa, and Lantana camara. Tuber rot caused by PTM in the storage condition was found least in the tuber treated with Malathion, Coriandrum sativum, Curcuma longa, and Yucca sp. Analyzing all the parameters, eco-friendly management of PTM can be done by a successive spray of Azadirachta indica oil 5%EC and Curcuma longa. Likewise, pre-sowing treatment with Curcuma longa, Yucca sp., and Bacillus thuringiensis reduces the tuber infection at tuber harvest. Seed tuber when treated with different botanicals could protect tuber from PTM infestation during storage. The most potent powders were Lantana camera, Coriandrum sativum, and Curcuma longa.