Eco-Friendly Approaches Identified for Effective Management of Aphids in Fodder Cowpea

August 2026

Research findings on the population dynamics and eco-friendly management of aphids in fodder cowpea revealed that the highest aphid population of Aphis craccivora was recorded during the 11th MSW, coinciding with the third week of March. Correlation studies showed that aphid population had a positive correlation with temperature (0.52**) and a negative correlation with rainfall (-0.58*).

Evaluation of eco-friendly management approaches indicated that Lecanicillium lecanii (2 × 10⁸ cfu/g) @ 2 g/l and neem formulation (3000 ppm) @ 5 ml/l were superior among the treatments evaluated for managing Aphis craccivora in fodder cowpea.

The findings demonstrate the potential of Lecanicillium lecanii (2 × 10⁸ cfu/g) and neem formulation (3000 ppm) as eco-friendly approaches for the management of aphids in cowpea.

(Source: ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi)